Son of hope
by elerosse13
Summary: The war against Voldemort has ended and all Harry wants to do is rest. But sometimes we get what we need, instead of what we want. Join Harry as he undertakes an Epic journey and finally finds himself among other people-who-lived. (NOT FELLOWSHIP TIME) NOT SLASH
1. Whispers

_**Hi **__**first chapter of a first story, very exciting.  
Please be kind and I hope that you'll like.  
English is not my first language, so I am very happy for you to point out spelling mistakes : )  
Also, it is a while since I read the LoTR books so please do sent me a note if I get names or cities wrong…  
Thanks Elerosse  
**_

* * *

**Whispers**

Harry swallowed hard, as the official ended the funeral service, and had to take a deep breath before glancing at the new tomb stones on the ground. The flowers he'd brought lay on the ground, stark white against the lush green grass.  
Teddy made a noise of protest from his grandmother's arms and Harry watched as Andromeda wiped her eyes before smiling down shakily at her only grandchild.  
Harry could still not get over the fact that Remus and Tonks were gone and that little Teddy was an orphan, like himself.

"It was a nice service, wasn't it?" Andromeda asked, catching his stare.

"Yeah." Harry mumbled, watching as Teddy's hair went seamlessly from blond to brown as the little boy watched him.  
He'd not had that many chances to meet his godson yet but the boy seemed happy and content living with his grandmother who spoiled him rotten.  
Andromeda seemed to find his presence a big comfort as she'd been left both childless and a widow, the war had been very cruel indeed to her.

Harry gave the gathered people a sweeping look, most belonged to the Order of Phoenix but there were a fair few Hogwarts students there as well.  
Remus was well remembered as one of the good teachers by the student's, who'd had him during the year he'd been teaching. Then there were Tonk's friends as well, however Harry didn't know who they were as they'd left Hogwarts before he started his first year.

Harry was getting rather familiar with this graveyard, he'd been here several times in the past week for funeral services.  
Fred's gravestone stood not far away and Harry watched as Mr and Mrs Weasley walked up to it. Their son's funeral had been only days ago and Harry felt sure that he wasn't the only one feeling rather numb at the moment.  
So many people had died or gotten hurt, that it felt as if they'd be coming here regularly.

All was not bad of course, Voldemort was gone, his Deatheater's being rounded up and families were being reunited again.  
Hermione was leaving for her parents as soon as things settled down, with Ron joining her for the journey.  
Harry glanced at them as they stood holding hands, whilst talking to Neville.

Ginny appeared suddenly by his side, grabbing hold of his hand in a firm grip.  
Harry startled slightly at her touch, he wasn't sure how he felt about them being a couple anymore and it was making him very uncomfortable, especially as Ginny was showing quite clearly that she still had strong feelings for him.  
Harry didn't want to make things weird with her family either and so felt rather trapped.

They started moving towards the exit gate and Harry gave Andromeda and Teddy a last look.  
The baby's hair had gone as red as the soft toy he was holding and his grandmother was stroking it with a soft look on her face. Andromeda had a friend staying over for company and looked as if she'd be well taken care of, not that Harry worried too much as she was very able to look after herself.  
He'd had a good talk with her before the funeral and they were scheduled to meet again in a week's time. Harry wanted to make sure that he was a regular presence in little Teddy's life.

"Are you coming home with us Harry?" Ginny asked, as they got nearer to the gate.  
Harry shook his head slowly and ignored the look of disappointment that appeared on her face, as he'd known it would.  
He'd been staying over at the Weasley's house since the end of the war, as Mrs Weasley had asked him to. He hadn't had the heart to say no as she was grieving Fred, George had shut himself up in the shop and only came for dinners under threat of being dragged home.  
Ginny had been stuck to him like glue, not that he'd minded at first as it stopped him from thinking too much about everything that had happened, but it was getting a bit awkward now that he was unsure of his feelings.

He just wanted a little space, some quiet time alone.  
"I need to go and check out Grimmauld place, I want to get the place sorted and decide if I'm keeping it or not." Harry said, watching as her face lit up.

"I could help you, four hands are better than two." She said with a smile, brushing some flyaway hair away from her face.

"I think I'd like to do it on my own, if that's alright." Harry mumbled, feeling a bit mean as her face fell once again.  
She nodded quietly and cast a look at her parents, who were following at a slower pace behind them.

"I'm sure mum would like it if you came for dinner at least." She said, giving him a soft look.  
Harry nodded hesitantly even though he really didn't want to meet any people for a while, not even family.  
He loved the Weasley's, dearly, but it always overwhelmed him somewhat when he was there and as every member of the family was at home at the moment, it felt as if staying away was the best thing to do.  
Ginny seemed to catch his uncertainty and gave him a somewhat tired look. She looked as if she wanted to say something before changing her mind and staying quiet.

"I'll be in touch." Harry said, stepping aside as they walked through the gate. He gave Ron and Hermione a wave before Apparating away, he'd be seeing them soon again and they knew that he wanted some alone time.

After two short days of general tidying and sorting out his godfather's house, Harry felt a bit more willing to brave the company of others.

Ron and Hermione had been round the day before, just to check in about today and chat about their journey to Australia in a couple of weeks' time.  
Hermione was a bundle of nerves and seemed to alternate between being afraid to go and barely able to contain herself from leaving this very second.  
Ron was rather excited to go as well and had even done some research, jumping over the parts about the local wildlife.

Harry Apparated from the doorstep of Grimmauld place and appeared close to the ministry of magic. He entered the phone booth and was soon walking through the Ministry atrium. He was used to the stares and whispers now and ignored the people turning their heads to watch the march of the chosen one.  
Hermione spotted him first and nudged Ron, who gave him a wave. The newly appointed Minister of magic, Shacklebolt turned and gave Harry a nod in greeting.

"Harry, nice to see you again, I hear that you are here for the Malfoy trials too." The Minister said, shaking his hand, knowing full well that Harry had been meaning to come.

"Yes, well Malfoy and his mum did help out in their own way." Harry said, ignoring the snort from Ron.  
Hermione gave her boyfriend a sharp look and Ron swallowed hard before eyeing the floor.

"Draco was very nice to me whilst I was a captive there." A voice proclaimed, behind Harry.  
Luna and her father had made it over, both looking as odd as they usually did. Mr Lovegood gave the trio a guilty look before turning on the minister.

"Hello Minister, do you have a comment on how many new vampires the ministry has allowed to be created? I heard that some of your own staff have been petitioning for permission to change, do you have any comments on the rumours." Mr Lovegood said, quill at the ready. Shacklebolt gave a small crocked smile, but surprisingly managed to keep his face serious as he eyed the publisher.

"Why don't we walk to the courtroom together Mr Lovegood, you can ask your questions on the way down?" Kingsley said, motioning for Mr Lovegood to follow.

"Daddy has been working round the clock lately, The Quibbler is doing ever so well at the moment and we're printing more copies than ever before." Luna said proudly, watching him and the Minister move towards the lift.

"What is today's most important article to read in your opinion?" Hermione asked suddenly, giving Harry a quick look of apology.

Luna gave her a quick stare as if to check that Hermione really wanted to know the answer before speaking.  
"The one which takes up the common misconception that Harry is completely human still, well in the same sense as the rest of us." Luna answered, giving Harry a thoughtful stare.  
Harry blinked and opened his mouth before closing it again, he wasn't sure he wanted her to elaborate on the topic.

"What is he then?" Ron asked, eyeing Harry with a wicked look in his eyes, clearly enjoying himself on Harry's behalf.

"Oh, we are not entirely sure what race, but we do know that he is a really alive thing." Luna answered vaguely, putting her head on the side, still observing Harry thoughtfully.

"A really alive thing?" Ron echoed, smiling broadly at the look of consternation that appeared on Harry's face.

"The Quibbler argues that Harry was born alive like the rest of us, then became alive in a half-dead way and now is alive in a he-won't-ever die-way." Hermione said, making them all stare at her instead of Luna.

"I didn't know that you read daddy's paper Hermione, I'll make sure that you get it at the friends discount price." Luna said, looking rather pleased at finding out that Hermione had been converted.  
Hermione gave her a small smile in return, ignoring Harry and Ron's twin looks of shock.

"What does that mean exactly? Is he or isn't he alive" Ron asked, pressing the lift button.

"I think it's pretty obvious that I'm alive Ron." Harry muttered.

"Oh, I don't know. Every now and then you go kind of invisible and…hey!" Ron jumped back at Harry's quick swat.

"I guess I'm pretty solid for a non-alive thing." Harry said, stepping into the lift with a smile.

"Oh, we don't think that you're dead at all anymore Harry, we're pretty sure that you're really alive." Luna hurried to point out.  
Ron couldn't help but chuckle at Harry's face, but wisely chose to be quiet.

They stepped out of the lift and Harry hurried to the stairs that would lead them to the courtroom.  
The trials were held in courtroom ten, the same room that Harry had been tried in for under age magic against the Dementors.  
It was packed with people, most no doubt there to see justice served and the room was abuzz with whispers.  
Harry was there because he felt that he should be, both Malfoy and his mother had after all tried to help him, albeit in their own self-serving way.  
Malfoy when refusing to confirm Harry's identity and Mrs Malfoy when checking to see if he really was dead.  
The trial started and the room quieted down. Draco was the first to go on trial and Harry was taken aback at the other man's appearance. Malfoy looked as if he'd lost half his body weight in the short time since the war ended.

Kingsley made sure that the tone in the courtroom stayed neutral as he had The Malfoy's account for their actions during the war.  
The Wizengamot members had been kept busy since the fall of Voldemort, with many trials already held.  
Draco walked to the chair and Harry watched as the manacles took a firm grasp of his wrists, when he was seated. He remembered the feeling of being seated there and couldn't help the small sliver of pity that sneaked into his heart.  
The blond boy accounted for his parts in the war in a quiet voice, which still seemed to carry round the room.

Harry when called, gave witness of both Draco and Mrs Malfoy's actions and then sat down feeling relieved that it was over. Mrs Malfoy had given him an even look as he stepped down from the witness booth.  
He listened as Luna and Mr Ollivander added their account and was not too surprised when the youngest Malfoy got away with nothing but a warning.  
Mrs Malfoy was given a house arrest order and had to pay a hefty fine.  
She had never been marked as a Deatheater but as she hadn't given her husband up for arrest or stopped the actions that had happened in the house, as well as harbouring fugitives she had been given the house arrest as punishment.

Mr Malfoy on the other hand was given a prison sentence, to be served in Azkaban.  
This time he hadn't been able to talk or buy himself out of it, Mrs Malfoy had looked resigned when the sentence had been read out. Harry felt fairly sure that they had expected the sentence, even if they no doubt had hoped for a miracle.

Harry made it out of the courtroom without too many stops, although still too slowly for his taste.  
A few comments to the reporters and then he was free to wade through the handshakes and congratulations that seemed to follow him wherever he went nowadays.

Hermione and Ron had made it out much quicker than him and stood waiting outside in the corridor with Luna.

"Well that's that then." Ron said, pulling at his robe in a dejected manner. Hermione rolled her eyes at him and gave him a pointed stare, they had obviously been talking about something before Harry joined them.  
"What? Ferret got away didn't he? I still say that a few weeks in the hellhole might have done him well." Ron protested at her look, making Harry sigh.  
Ron had been rather against going to Malfoy's trial and specifically witnessing in Malfoy's favour.  
Hermione had given in a written statement but Ron had refused to do anything that would be considered as helping the blond.

"Draco was as kind to me as he could." Luna said, focusing her eyes on Ron, who looked away with a scowl.  
The friends were quiet for a moment and Harry eyed the others strangely before shaking his head.

"Are you ok Harry?" Hermione asked, ever attentive.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just…er…nothing." Harry muttered, shifting uncomfortably, he could swear that he heard whispering from somewhere near.  
"Can you hear it?" He asked finally, not being able to see anyone near, making Hermione shake her head slowly.

"Hear what?" She asked, moving closer. Ron eyed him nervously and gave the corridor they were standing in a good inspection. .  
"What are you hearing Harry?" She asked when he failed to respond.

"Whispering." Harry muttered, feeling ridiculous.

"Nobody is whispering." Ron said, eyeing him strangely.  
"Could it be a snake?" He asked, eyeing the floor rather nervously.

"Maybe it's from the veil." Luna said, making Harry's head turn towards her quickly.  
He took a step backwards at the mere thought of the veil, which his godfather had passed through.  
"You travelled to the land of the dead again, perhaps you can hear them more clearly now." Luna theorised.

"Right, I'm leaving." Harry muttered, giving the other three a dark look.  
Luna gave him a disappointed look, clearly wanting to discuss the veil matter further but gave him a small wave anyway.

"Harry! Do you have a minute?" Kingsley called, stepping out of the courtroom door, making Harry stop mid step.  
Harry nodded reluctantly, he wanted to leave the ministry and the sooner the better.  
Kingsley motioned for the stairs and Harry gladly made for them with Hermione and Ron following. Luna was waiting for her father to come out, no doubt they'd have another article out about him, Harry mused somewhat irritated even though he knew that Luna meant no harm.  
"I was wondering what your future plans are, does being an Auror still seem interesting to you?" The minister asked as the descended the stairs, making Harry bite his lip. He had hoped to not have this conversation so soon.  
"That goes for the two of you as well of course." Kingsley added to Hermione and Ron.

Harry knew that Ron would take Kingsley up on the offer and that Hermione wouldn't.  
The redhead had already discussed the possibility with Harry of them applying together, what with their experience. Hermione was already set for going back to Hogwarts, having talked it through with Professor McGonagall.

Harry wasn't sure what he wanted anymore. Everything he'd been so sure about during the war, was now a big jumble of uncertainties.  
Ginny, becoming an Auror, well everything really.

"I want the job." Ron said quickly, when it became clear that Harry was in no hurry to answer.  
He gave Harry, who was staring at the lift button intently, a strange look.

"I don't know." Harry said finally, making them all stare.  
He stepped into the lift when the doors slid open and rubbed his neck feeling confused.

"The answer doesn't need to be given today Harry, why don't you take some time to think about it. Merlin knows you've done more than enough already." Kingsley said calmly, not at all fazed by Harry's answer.

"But you always wanted to become an Auror." Ron said, sounding shocked that Harry wasn't jumping at the chance.  
Harry nodded and closed his eyed, to get away from the somewhat accusing look in Ron's brown eyes.

"Maybe you just need some quiet time Harry, come with us to Australia it'll be like a little holiday." Hermione urged, making Ron's face brighten and he nodded fervently at his girlfriend's wise words.  
Harry shrugged, stepping out into the atrium.

"Let me know when you've decided Harry, the offer stands for as long as need." Kingsley said pressing the lift button, making Harry nod.

"You want to be an Auror Harry!" Ron said forcefully, looking down at Harry intently. Harry shrugged again, making it over to the visitors lift quickly.

"Ron stop it! He doesn't have to fight any more if he doesn't want to." Hermione snapped, making Ron stiffen.

"What else would he do?" He asked, making Harry's heart clench.

"Anything he wants of course." Hermione said softly, stepping closer to Harry so that they all fitted in the booth. Ron eyed them confused, as if the mere thought of there being something else for them to do was unthinkable.

They parted somewhat stiffly, Harry apparating back to Grimmauld place and Ron and Hermione for the Burrow.

Harry stepped through the door, feeling as if a heavy weight had been placed on his shoulders again.  
Kreacher popped into existence and offered to take Harry's cloak.  
The house-elf had been adamant that he was returning with Harry to the Noble House of Black, rather than staying at Hogwarts and Harry, who wasn't that bothered by the elf's presence, had accepted the elf's choice.

"Does master want Kreacher to bring him something to eat or drink?" Kreacher asked, watching as Harry sat down with a heavy sigh by the kitchen table.

"No I'm fine thank you Kreacher." Harry responded, putting his head in his hands tiredly.  
The elf left him to his thoughts and Harry sighed again, he was just so tired.  
He had been feeling odd ever since the battle had ended, as if he was present but not quite here.  
Maybe Luna was right in thinking that something inside of him had changed, although he doubted that he was anything but human.

Or perhaps he just needed a holiday like Hermione suggested, some time away from everything and everybody. He just didn't know anything, anymore.

* * *

_**So what do you think of my first chapter. Has it made you want to read more?  
Still in Britain but we will soon be on our way.  
Many thanks for reading.  
Elerosse **_


	2. Down the rabbit hole

_**Second chapter already, the rest won't come as soon as I do have a life…  
Thank you so much to the two reviewer that have left reviews so far : ) Glad you both liked the first chapter.  
Thank you to everyone else that took the time to read as well.  
Well let me know what you think of this chapter.  
Elerosse**_

* * *

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

Harry sat poking the food, with his fork, absentmindly in the Burrow's warm kitchen.  
Mrs Weasley's food was delicious as always but having Ginny seated across the table, eyeing him with sorrowful eyes, had made him loose his appetite.

Hermione and Ron had left for Australia the day before, to try and find her parents, and Harry had been emotionally blackmailed to come over for dinner by a tearful Mrs Weasley.  
He had declined Hermione's generous offer of coming with them on their trip, as he would have felt too much like the third wheel now that they were getting serious with their relationship.  
But now that he sat in the Burrows kitchen suffering with a tearful Mrs Weasley, teasing from Bill and Charlie and Ginny who wouldn't stop staring at him, he wondered if perhaps he should have joined his friends.

"So Harry, I have been having some problems at work, which involve you." Bill said, making Harry eye the man curiously.  
"The goblins are pretty upset about the whole Gringotts break in, they're adamant that you should offer them some sort of compensation or risk losing your account." He continued making Harry scowl.  
Yes the goblins had been rather short with him when he'd been over, but they had so far graciously allowed him access to his money, which was ever so kind of them. Harry had felt like sneering at them when they had gone on about being so overseeing about the destruction of their property and stealing. It was not as if he'd saved them from Voldemort or anything…  
"I convinced them that it would cause too much negative publicity, should they take The Saviours money from him." Bill said giving Harry a reassuring smile.

"They can't honestly be thinking of taking his gold Bill?" Mrs Weasley protested, eyeing her oldest son in disbelief.

"Course they can, they're vicious, greedy little bastards aren't they?" Charlie asked, shrugging at his mother's sharp look at his language.

"Well as it stands they just want him to come and apologise in person, which I don't recommend you do on your own Harry." Bill said, giving Harry a pointed look.

"I already have, the first time I went there and the time after." Harry muttered, making Bill shake his head.  
Harry put his fork down, his appetite completely gone now.  
Mrs Weasley pushed a bread roll at him and he took a small bite of it, only to please her.

"Yes, well breaking into one of their vaults, stealing one of their dragons and getting away with it has probably left them somewhat upset." Charlie said, sounding rather amused about the matter. Harry grimaced and slumped in his seat dejectedly, he'd been forced to break in or the war would have ended differently, but the goblins seemed to think that he could have handled it differently.

"Perhaps I should have just brought Voldemort over to the bank and asked the goblins to get rid of him. Ungrateful bug…Sorry Mrs Weasley." Harry muttered.

"Look I wouldn't normally ask, but they are getting somewhat antagonising towards me as they know that we know one another, could you come over and apologise again? I'll be with you the entire time and we'll make sure that it ends there and then." Bill asked, kicking his smirking brother under the table.

Harry shrugged and picked his fork up again, leaving the bread roll for later as it just settled like a stone in his stomach at the moment.  
"Sure, when do you want me to come?" He asked, spearing a potato moodily. He'd say he was sorry, but only because he liked Bill.

"Well, the sooner you get it over with the better, goblins are prideful creatures and it's best to stay on their good side, if you can. You'll want to wear nice robes, by the way." Bill answered, getting another nod from Harry, it wasn't as if he had something else to do.  
"Although I'm pretty sure that you're stuffed forever in terms of getting on their good list again. Goblins have very long memories, extremely long in fact." Bill added, shrugging at Harry's glare, and making Charlie chuckle.

"Yes I think I got that myself thanks." Harry muttered, rolling his eyes, not really caring what the goblins thought of him.

"You know, I did warn you." Bill said rather evilly, in Harry's opinion and he gave the oldest Weasley son a glare.

"I'm not doing anything tomorrow, do you want some company Harry?" Ginny asked hopefully, perking up across the table at the thought of going out with him.

"I think Harry will be just fine with Bill, Ginny. No need to bring the entire wizarding world and their cat there with him." Mrs Weasley said, making Ginny scowl and Harry silently sigh in relief. Ginny had been pestering him every day about meeting up and he felt rotten about putting her down all the time. The fact was though, that he didn't want to date her anymore and was just too scared to tell her or her brothers.

"But more people would be a good idea in case the Goblins want to cause trouble." Ginny argued, flinging her long hair over her shoulder crossly.

"You're right Gin, I'll accompany Harry and Bill, good idea." Charlie said, appreciatively, ignoring the narrowing of Ginny's eyes.

"There, all sorted." Mrs Weasley sniffed, patting her second-born on the head proudly.  
Ginny glared daggers at them all and Harry quickly stuffed a mouthful of food in his mouth before busying himself with loading up the next mouthful on his fork. He slipped one hand down to his pocket in case she decided to hex them.

The Weasley matriarch was being very helpful in keeping him and Ginny apart, she was apparently of the same opinion as Harry, that they were moving too quickly.  
When Ginny had floo called him the other day and begged him to let her come and visit, even going as far as hinting that he'd be very happy if he did, her mother had happened to be walking past the room.  
Harry's evasive answers had been stopped by an appalled Mrs Weasley, who'd sent Ginny to her room to think of her behaviour, before thanking Harry for being a gentleman. They were far too young for that sort of talk after all, Harry had nodded and quickly made up an excuse for ending the call.

"I was only going to go as moral support." Ginny grumbled, making her mother stare at her until she blushed.  
"I don't get what your problem is mum! It's not like I haven't been alone with a boy before you know, I got further with Dean that I ever have with Harry and that's not for lack of trying!" Ginny snapped before pushing away from the table angrily and storming up to her room.  
The bang of her bedroom door slamming shut, shook the whole house and Harry swallowed hard.  
He was left with an amused Bill and Charlie and an apologetic Mrs Weasley, making him want to sink under the table and disappear forever.

Mrs Weasley excused herself and left the kitchen to have a long overdue chat with Ginny, this behaviour was not going to be tolerated, she was fifteen not twenty-five.  
In a way Harry could understand Ginny's anger, he'd been leading her on last year making her think that they had something going on. But it just didn't feel right anymore, he wasn't interested in her or anyone else and felt rotten because of it.

"So this Dean fellow, any idea where I could find him?" Bill asked, after a moment of silence causing Harry to groan. Charlie eyed Harry equally interested in the answer and Harry quickly excused himself and returned to the sanctuary of Grimmauld place after agreeing on a time to meet in Gringotts the next day.

He paced the rooms of the dreary house like a spectre with only Kreacher for company. His whole body was buzzing, almost as if his magic wanted out.  
Perhaps a visit to see Madam Pomfrey might be a good idea, just to rule out any diseases.  
He feared that he was getting depressed or something, he couldn't sleep for more than a few hours, he wasn't hungry and life just felt so odd.  
Indoors he felt trapped and outdoors he didn't feel much better with all the buildings and people about. It was almost as if he'd left a part of himself in the middle world he'd come to after dying, or perhaps as Luna had suggested brought too much back.

Harry sat collapsed in one of the armchairs in the drawing room, pondering the mysteries of life morosely.  
"Does master wish for anything?" Kreacher asked, pausing in his dusting long enough to give Harry a fond look. He and the elf lived a life of quiet solitude, which suited them both.  
Harry shook his head and listlessly observed as the elf polished yet another family heirloom.

He fell asleep in the armchair and woke up stiff the next day, cursing himself.  
Eating breakfast whilst getting ready for his meeting ended up being a bad idea, as he had to change clothes again after getting jam all over the front of his robes.  
He left the house in a bad mood and got to Gringotts just in time, spotting the two red heads quickly. He made sure that his invisibility cloak was safely stuffed in his pocket in case of emergency before approaching the two brothers.  
He also slid his wand up his sleeve for easy access but hoped that he wouldn't have to use it as the Goblins had been able to restrain themselves thus far from attacking.  
Bill and Charlie both seemed to be in good moods and Harry sighed as they made a point of greeting nearly every person in the bank before finally leading Harry further into the building.  
He had been here before without anything happening, even though they acted as if it was his first time back.

Harry glanced up at the damaged ceiling and winced again at the sizeable hole the dragon had left, it was a real wonder that the goblins hadn't attacked him yet he thought. Not that he really regretted it, it had been a necessary evil.  
"It'll be fine Harry." Bill whispered as they walked past one glaring goblin after another.  
Harry snorted quietly, but wisely refrained from making a comment. It was odd how quickly he was back to being treated as a child again, even after having rid the world of the Dark Lord, he thought.

They knocked on a richly carved door and entered the room after getting permission.  
"Thank you for bringing Mr Potter here Mr Weasley, you may leave us now." The Goblin said, showing his sharp teeth.

"Actually we'd like to stay, moral support and all that." Bill said politely but firmly, meeting the goblins stare head on.  
The creature eyed him for a long time before turning his eyes on Harry.

"So, the destroyer has returned." The Goblin sneered.  
Harry sensed that the goblin wasn't talking about the destruction of Voldemort and felt rather irritated with this continued hostility.

"I wanted to offer my deepest apologies again sir." Harry muttered trying to look apologetic, making the goblin wave his long nailed hands in the air derisively.

"Your apology will never be accepted as long as our nation exists, destruction of our business and theft from our vaults is never forgiven." The goblin said harshly.  
Charlie fidgeted on Harry's left, whilst Bill kept his cool.

"Then why did you request his presence here Ragnok, if there was no hope of reconciliation?" Bill asked, making the goblin sneer.  
Harry felt like rolling his eyes, it was obvious to him that they simply wanted him to suffer for as long as possible.

"He disturbed something, deep in the dark, we do not know what but we demand that he come and set it right." Ragnok said, glaring at Harry who blinked at this new information.

"He will not be going anywhere alone and are you really expecting him to right something that you, yourself don't know how to?" Bill asked, keeping his own against the goblin.

"His name is written on the wall." Ragnok said ominously, glaring again at Harry.  
"It reads of a man who lives without dying, in our most ancient script, the boy will have to do it and we will graciously allow him continued use of our services." The goblin added, pointing his finger at Harry, who barely stopped himself from snapping back that he'd just remove all his gold if they were going to continue to make a fuss about it all.

Bill eyed Harry interestedly before turning back to the goblin.  
"A foretelling by the ancient script?" He asked, making the goblin nod tersely in response.  
"It's up to you Harry, I don't mind coming down with you as I'd love to get a peek at the script. I got a chance to study it a couple of years back and it's really cool." Bill said, sounding rather hopeful to Harry's ears.  
Harry gave Charlie a look and received a shrug in return, clearly Charlie was only there as an extra wand holder.

"Sure, as long as I can leave afterwards." Harry muttered, making Charlie nod in agreement.  
Bill gave them a reassuring look and nodded at the goblin, who stood and moved for the door.

They travelled through the winding tracks, in a small cart, for what felt like an eternity before finally stopping deep down in the depth of the bank.  
Harry eyed the tethered dragon, sleeping on the ground, nervously and shivered from the cool air.  
There were also two goblins standing guard behind the dragon, in front of what looked like a dark cave like structure.  
Behind the goblins there were some big boulders obstructing their path, which they had to squeeze past to get to the dark corner they were headed for and Harry felt rather certain that the break-in had caused them to be where they now were.

Bill started walking faster as the wall came into view, it did indeed have writing on the wall and Harry blinked at the beautiful artwork alongside the words.  
There were delicate flowers and plants, all painstakingly chiselled out on the mountain wall.

"The man who walks through death and onwards…let his…er…feet take flight…" Bill muttered haltingly, as he tried translating the words on the wall.  
"…Elf friends of old…pathway to resurrection and hope…er…The Valar, guide…" Bill rubbed the back of his head, staring at the wall intently whilst moving his lips silently.  
Harry glanced at Charlie, who was throwing furtive looks back towards the dragon, before stepping closer to Bill.

"What does it say?" Harry finally asked, when the silence got too long, making Bill frown.

"I'm not sure, something about living after death and finding a path or walkway. This is really old scripture, some of it forgotten in time as it was created long before the goblins wrote even half of their history books." Bill answered.  
"It's full of magic this language, probably older magic than our own." He added reverently, eyeing the wall with awe, the goblin eyed Bill appreciatively before scowling again.

"And he is the one we think can unlock it!" Ragnok snapped, pointing at Harry with one of his long fingers, clearly unimpressed.  
"Touch it with your wand, wizard." He demanded, staring Harry down with his beady eyes.

Harry turned to Bill who shrugged.  
"It's probably just a door or something." Bill said touching the wall with his own wand, making Harry feel better when no apparent traps were activated.  
Although the talk about living after death sounded a lot like what Luna had been talking about.

Harry brought his wand out and slowly approached the wall causing a shimmering dome to appear behind him, cutting the others off.  
Bill and the goblin both rushed forwards but were stopped from coming any closer by the dome and Harry quickly backed away from the wall.  
The dome disappeared and Harry felt reassured that he hadn't stepped into a trap, at the dark furious look that appeared on the goblins face.  
"I will stand next to you and you will step back as soon as it opens." Ragnok ordered making Harry nod, clearly he wouldn't be trapped somewhere as the goblin seemed eager to enter the room himself.  
They approached the wall together and the goblin gave a sound of outrage, as he was pushed back by the dome.  
Harry stepped back again, making the dome fall once more.

The goblin waved him on with a furious glare and Harry felt rather smug about being able to piss him off without even trying.

He stepped forwards again, this time ignoring the shimmering light behind him and raised his wand nervously.  
He could feel the magic even before his wand made contact with the wall and then there was nothing but darkness and the feeling of free falling._  
_A sudden blinding light made Harry throw his hands upin fright and he felt his wand jerk out of his grip, as if someone had spelled it from him before it disappeared into the nothingness. Harry tried to summon it wordlessly but nothing happened.  
The air grew warm around him and Harry felt his body relax and his eyes close, wondering if this was death that he was experiencing yet again.

Not a moment later, he drew a burning breath of air and blinked ice-cold water from his eyes as he coughed gallons of water out of his lungs.  
He paddled in the dark for a moment before spotting something glowing in the distance.  
His arms felt heavy as he swam towards what he hoped was landmass and soon managed to pull himself out of the water and collapsed on the cold stone ground.

He lay shivering on the ground for a moment and then cursed the goblin race hoarsely, not caring if they all stood watching. He was taking all his money out of the bank and then never, ever visiting again, he vowed.  
He spat out some more water, wondering just how much he'd swallowed before pulling off the heavy wet robe he was wearing.

He shivered violently and pulled the invisibility cloak out from his pocket, thanking death or who ever made it for crafting such a useful item.  
The cloak was warm and dry and offered at least a smidgen of warmth even with his wet t-shirt and trousers on.  
He'd lost his shoes somewhere in the water but couldn't spot them floating anywhere.

He didn't even bother looking for his wand in the dark hole he'd been dropped into, it was pretty much pitch black and he could feel deep down that the wand was gone.  
It was lost forever and wouldn't the goblins be happy for it, Harry thought darkly.

He looked round the dark cave and spotted several strands of silvery stripes, which seemed etched into the walls. He carefully edged closer to them, mindful of where he put his shoeless feet.  
It was some sort of rock that shimmered in the dark, he'd never seen anything like it before, It grew brighter the closer he was to it.

He could see now that he was nearer a light source, even if dim, that there was a way out of the cave if he climbed a near vertical wall. He could see more of the silver stripes leading the way upwards and decided that he wasn't staying down in the deep waiting for the goblins to come. As they would no doubt, never come at all.

After slipping and sliding for ages, he finally managed to drag himself up to a small ledge.  
His hands were stinging, his knees ached and he was never coming back to Gringotts again.  
It became a mantra of sorts as he scaled the stone walls, aiming for higher ground.  
"I'm…never…ever...coming…back…again!" He spat furiously as he reached for the next bit of rock to pull himself upwards with.

He wasn't sure how far he'd climbed when he heard the first sound, since arriving, other than his own laboured breaths.  
It was a sort of rhythmic sound that made his neck hairs stand at end and as his hair had gotten somewhat long, it was a rather impressive feat.  
Calling out seemed to be a bad idea in case the goblins were preparing to use him as a ritualistic sacrifice for defiling their precious bank. No, he was getting out of here on his own and then he'd give them hell.

The cloak had been stuffed in his pocked again by the time Harry reached his third, larger ledge.  
He was tired and sweaty and badly in need of a drink of water. He wasn't sure how long he'd been down there now, but surely Bill and Charlie had alerted the ministry and started a search.  
Unless they'd been taken captives as well, to stop anyone from asking questions but then Mrs Weasley would sound the alarm.  
He'd be found eventually or manage to get out on his own, it wasn't as if it was the first dangerous adventure he'd been on.  
But boy, did the trip to Australia sound even more tempting now than ever, Ron and Hermione were sure to give him grief about saying no to it.

The trickling sound of water from higher up, finally urged Harry on and he managed to pull himself through a narrow gap in the rock above his head.  
He found himself sitting in a dark, carved out, tunnel and nearly cheered in delight at not having to stop himself from looking down into the deep, endless abyss anymore.

The water he'd heard was trickling down the walls and collecting in a small bowl made from silver metal, stuck to the floor. The bowls shimmered with pale light in the same way as the rock had done down in the cave, making him wonder if they were the same stuff.  
Metal could be made from rock, at least he was pretty sure it could be.  
He filled his hands and swallowed the cold water down greedily, drenching his parched mouth, water had never tasted this good.

Deciding which direction to go was easy, up meant out in Harry meagre caving experience, it had led him here after all.  
The narrow stone tunnel he was in, was as dark as the cave he'd dragged himself up from with a low ceiling causing even him to walk slightly bent.  
Luckily there were more of the little water collectors along the tunnel, which offered small glowing beacons to aim for in the dark.

He hobbled along on sore feet, only stopping for sips of water, until his feet could carry him no more and he had to rest.  
The hole he'd been dropped down into, must have been very deep as he was sure he'd been walking for hours.  
He pulled the cloak out again and covered his damp body with it, only intending to rest for a moment before continuing.

He woke up disorientated hours later and cursed as reality hit him, he was still in hell.  
Standing up was a chore as his entire body was protesting any kind of movement, his legs and feet more so than the rest.  
He wrapped the cloak closer to his shivering body and slowly started his endless trek for freedom again.  
If he came out of this adventure without a cold, he'd be very surprised.

Bleary eyed and walking in near pitch darkness, he failed to see the thing obstructing his path until he lay in a heap on top of it.  
He pushed away and then let out a horrified gasp at having touched what felt like a spidery hand. He ever so carefully reach out along the floor until he reached the thing again.  
It was a hand, a skeleton hand.

Somebody very dead was on the floor in front of him, left for long enough that his body decayed to leave nothing but bones to show.  
Harry pulled his hand back and then tried to edge past the body, so that he could continue. He did not want to end up like that, to be found by some other unfortunate, lost person.

He stubbed his toe on something cold and hard and muttered a swearword at the pain that came from it.  
Bending down, he picked the object up and carefully inspected it with his fingers, squinting hard to try and make it out in the dark.  
It was a sword, probably stolen as the goblins had left the thief to die alone in the dark.  
He hefted it in his hands and shrugged, he was wandless so a sword could come in handy. And at the moment he wasn't above using it against a goblin after what they were putting him through, he thought rather grimly.

The air was getting cooler, he was sure of it as he shivered under the cloak. His clothes were still damp and he barely had any sensation left in his feet from the cold.

He spotted another silver bowl further ahead, slightly higher than the rest had been and he was delighted at finding some stairs by it.  
The shimmering bowls brought him not only water but hope too.  
Surely he was getting nearer the surface now, perhaps this was the emergency exit tunnel in case the carts failed or something like it.  
He walked past two more dusty skeletons as he scaled the stairs before finally entering a large open cavernous space.

Some light entered the large room from somewhere, but he wasn't sure where.  
He was dismayed to see a ceiling high above his head as that meant the carts didn't come here and that he had some way to go still.  
Pulling the hood over his head, he carefully edged into the open.  
His footsteps made little sound as he walked aimlessly for a moment, eyeing the enormous space he'd entered.  
He had no idea where to go now, he was lost.

Leaning against one of the tall pillars that supported the ceiling, he took a moment to try and inspect his hands and feet. His glasses were foggy with dirt and everything looked slightly blurry but he gave his body a once over, the best he could.  
His hands looked scraped but otherwise fine, whilst his feet were black with dirt and felt freezing to the touch. He'd worn the socks out and now pulled the torn shreds of fabric off, grimacing as they stuck to his skin painfully.

A sound from further in the room, made his head snap up and he saw a light bobbing far in the distance.  
He quickly looked around for somewhere to hide even though he was invisible and found a dark doorway not far from where he stood.  
He hurried over and held his breath, gripping the sword hard, as he fought his nerves, he kept watch so that he could see if it was a goblin or wizard that was approaching.

He could hear them getting nearer as they talked in an odd language, that had to be Gobbledegook, so no wizards this time only goblins.  
But as the creatures came into view, Harry had to keep the gasp that threatened to escape him, by placing his hand over his mouth.

Those were not Goblins! They were hideous creatures of a sort Harry that had never seen or heard about before.  
The two creatures argued as they walked across the great room, carrying pointy spears and generally looking far more evil than the goblins ever had. He wiped his robe over the glasses to get a better look and shook his head in dismay as his vision stayed as blurry as before.

A puff of air shifted the cloak around Harry's feet and he carefully turned around, mindful of making any noises.  
The air smelt fresher in this tunnel and he gave the disappearing creatures a last look before deciding to follow this new tunnel to wherever it led.  
The ground under his feet was slippery and wet, making him slide more often than walk. He stubbed his toes more than ones and hoped that he'd not end up with them broken, it was hard enough walking on them already.  
He had to make many small interruptions to his walk so that his feet could rest and wondered about tearing up his t-shirt and using the fabric as bandages.

A light breeze blew on his face all of a sudden and he blinked with blurry eyes at the tree branches that blocked his way out of the tunnel.  
He was free!

He pressed the branches to the side and slipped out of the hell hole, feeling such a sense of relief that tears were brought to his eyes.  
It was night time and perhaps that was for the best, as his eyes had gotten used to the dark.

He looked around, as well as he could, at the dark forest in disbelief and wondered just how far away from London he'd ended up.  
He was aware of some of the different parks in and around London, perhaps he'd somehow ended up in Hampstead which had a more forest like feel to it, he wondered.

Oh, well as long as he didn't have to go back into the depth of Gringotts again, he was happy.

The moon glimmered high up in the sky, larger than ever before and Harry marvelled at its beauty until he stumbled on a root and sprawled headfirst onto the forest floor.

He shouldn't have left the house, he grumbled as he pushed himself up. His glasses which had survived so far, were now in two broken parts and he took a deep fortifying breath to keep from screaming out in frustration. His cheek smarted and he thought he might have scraped it as it felt rather raw.  
Could it get any worse, he wondered pulling his cloak tighter against the cool night air.

A creature nearby let out an inhuman screech and he shivered with foreboding.  
Perhaps climbing a tree and waiting for the sun to rise was a better choice than stumbling through the forest at night.  
He hauled his abused body as high as he could into a sturdy tree and wrapped the cloak securely round himself and then settled down for the night, feeling hopeful that he'd find some sort of civilisation by the next day and then finally get home.

* * *

_**What do you think?  
Elerosse**_


	3. The house of elves

_**Hello, thank you for the reviews and for reading, I hope you like the next chapter.  
Many thanks Elerosse.  
**_

HOUSE OF ELVES

* * *

Harry woke slowly as dawn approached and nearly toppled down from the tree he was in, when he stretched his legs. He pulled the hood from his face, gave a big yawn and then simply stared with bewilderment at what he was seeing.  
There was a very tall mountain above his head, with a snow-covered top and all.

He rubbed his eyes and blinked again, suddenly aware of the fact that he could see better than he'd ever done before, even with his glasses on.  
Not sure how that had happened he shrugged and decided to focus on one mystery at the time, his whereabouts being the most important one to solve.

He looked around again, taking in the mountainside on one side and the stone wall on the other. He was sandwiched in between them and couldn't see the lay of the land at all.

The tree he had climbed the night before was actually one of a very few and what he'd thought to be trees of a forest were in actual fact raised wooden structures that looked like parodies of trees, blocking the way.  
Someone had built them with evil intent, he was sure. They had sharp spears protruding in all direction, looking a bit like overgrown rose thorns and Harry was quite happy he hadn't tried to climb one of those yesterday in the dark.

Looking down at the ground he spotted the sword, which he'd taken from the skeleton down in the tunnel, standing upright in the soil and frowned at the thought of having dropped it at some point in the night without noticing.  
It wouldn't do him any good if he lost his only means of protection, what with being wandless, especially if those weird creatures from the great cave hall came after him.

He gingerly slipped down from the branch he'd taken refuge on and grimaced in pain, when his feet touched the ground.

Sitting down at the base of the tree he inspected the soles of his feet with a heavy sigh. Even though the skin was blackened with dirt, he could see broken blisters and scratches making him wonder how he'd gotten this far.  
He cut a section of fabric from the bottom of his trouser legs with the sword and carefully wrapped his feet as well as he could, hoping to find some water to wash them in at some point. He was very glad that he'd worn the cotton trousers under his robe, instead of shorts, as the length came in handy now.  
He did wish that he'd thought to bring the robe, he'd left down by the water hole with him, but it wasn't easy to think of stuff like that until you needed them.  
Hermione was the clever one to think of these things, he just blundered his way through everything and still managed to survive.

Using the tree to pull himself upright, he bit his lip again at the pain and doubted that he'd get very far without help.  
He gave the mountain wall from where he'd escaped a thoughtful look before deciding that he'd rather walk on miles of broken glass, than return into the dark depths again. If help came from that direction they'd have to follow him or wait for him to save himself, he was not returning in there.  
He slipped the hood up, both for warmth and to keep himself from prying eyes and hefted the sword up from the ground.

He only now spotted the multitude of large animal tracks surrounding the tree and swallowed hard, remembering the frightful screech from the night before.  
Harry wasn't an expert on tracks but they sure looked like something from either a large dog or a wolf. He hoped it was the former but had a feeling that they belonged to a wolf, considering the luck he'd had so far.  
  
He carefully hobbled past the fake trees and frowned in disgust at the sight of several small animals, all stiff in death, just short of the spikes and guessed that the protruding spikes were poisoned. He made sure to watch where he put his feet even more, in case one of the spikes lay broken on the ground for him to step on.  
He wondered if the builders of these trees were those creatures he'd seen in the great cave hall and whether or not they worked alongside the goblins or not.  
Perhaps the goblins had dumped him for the creatures to kill, that way being able to blame someone else for his unfortunate death.  
Well, he was going to show those goblins just why he was called the-boy-who-lived.  
He hadn't survived Voldemort just to be killed by some grumpy goblins. He hoped that Bill and Charlie were ok though, having been left behind.

He made very slow progress down the mountain but had found a walking stick, which made it at least more bearable to walk.  
He felt a bit as if he was being herded forwards as the walls on either sides became narrower and breathed out a sigh of relief when one side started declining.  
The sun finally hit his face and he squinted in the bright light before staring in shocked silence at the view that meet his eyes.

Well, he was most definitely not anywhere near London, he thought letting out a deep sigh.  
In fact, he wasn't even that sure he was in England anymore, as he doubted there were mountains as high as this one in the country. Perhaps up in Scotland but he somehow doubted that he'd ended up all the way up there.

Had the Goblins dug Gringotts right through the centre of the earth and dumped him at the other end or perhaps the entire wall had been some sort of a portkey, he wondered, ready to believe anything at this point.

The sight of the vast expanse of land laid before him was breath-taking as well as terrifying.  
There were no roads, telephone posts or tall buildings as far as he could see, just a large expanse of land, smaller mountains and rivers.  
It was as if he'd been plucked from the city and placed far away in the wilderness, if not on a different planet all together. The task of getting down the mountain and home, was going to take forever.

He took his rests in short bursts to avoid sitting in one place for too long. He dearly wished that he had something to collect water in as the little streams that existed, thanks to the snow covered peaks, appeared only randomly and far between.

He was really hungry for the first time in ages, exhausted and just wanted to go home and as the sun began dipping in the sky, he started worrying about where he was going to spend the night.  
As he could hide under the cloak and stay invisible he didn't worry so much about the creatures that used sight as their guide, it was the ones that used smell that worried him, especially since he stank to the high heavens at the moment.  
In the end a small crack in the mountain sufficed as a hidey hole for him to squeeze into and he hoped that the hungry growls his stomach emitted wouldn't carry and alert anyone of his location.

He woke up, in the dead of night, to a frightful din of growls and shrieks and carefully edged closer to the opening for a peek, the sword tightly held in his hand.  
He spotted a huge black, shaggy coated, animal and several of the scary creatures fighting in the darkness, before pressing himself as far back in his little cranny as he could, barely daring to breath.  
One of the creatures had turned and looked his way as if aware of a spectator, Harry quickly made sure that the cloak covered him completely and then held his breath.  
A face, that was sure to give him nightmares for weeks to come, looked in through the gap of his hiding place. Harry held his breath as the creature's foul stench filled the small space and prayed that it would soon leave.  
The creature sniffed a few times in the air and Harry watched as spit dribbled down its chin. It eyed Harry's crevice intently for a long moment as if confused by the empty space before finally turning away and joining its brethren.  
Sleep evaded Harry for the rest of the night and as the sunlight hit the ground outside, he finally dared to cautiously move from his cramped position.  
He was now more than exhausted and his throat was dry, he really hoped to see some people or he feared what would happen to him.  
Another night with those things and he'd be eaten for sure.

He spotted a broken spear on the ground, the tip dark red. There were bits of black fur and blood specks on the ground, along with deep scratches in the soil and Harry wondered which side that had won yesterday.  
Personally he'd take the big black one to fight, over the others any day.  
He pulled the cloak tighter still and carefully looked around but as he couldn't spot anything amiss, he carefully continued his journey downwards.  
A few steps later he cursed as tiny snowflakes started falling from the grey sky. It was supposed to be summer, he thought, astounded by their unlikely appearance. It must be because of how high up he was, he deducted with a scowl.  
He hobbled onwards and thought that if anyone could see him now, they'd think he was an old man with the way he leaned heavily on his stick.

By the time the sun stood high in the sky he'd made it a fair bit down the mountain. The snow had luckily stopped and he was actually feeling rather warm, strangely enough.  
There were large boulders on the path below and he wondered how much further he'd make before needing to find a place to spend the night in again.  
It was clear that he'd have to hide away once more but where, was beginning to be a problem as he'd not seen any more suitable little crevices or trees along the way.  
He was getting more than a little dizzy from tiredness and his feet had started to bleed through his makeshift bandages, but he wanted off the mountain and a bit of dizziness and pain wasn't going to stop him.  
Making up his mind to at least pass the three largest boulders he could see, he drew what little strength he had left and mustered on.

His body was so tired, that by the time the second boulder appeared, he didn't notice the creature slowly coming towards him, until he literally stood face to face with it.  
The white horse stood still, as if aware of his presence even though it couldn't see him, and Harry slowly pulled his hood down before reaching out with his hand shakily. The soft skin that met his hand was real, so the horse was not a figment of his imagination.  
"Hello, where did you come from?" Harry rasped, looking past the horse for an owner. The horse nickered in response and turned round as if to say, follow me. Harry limped a few steps behind the horse before it stopped and kneeled on the ground before him.  
He eyed it strangely before realising what it wanted. Carefully approaching it he got up on its back, before it rose up again.  
"You don't know how glad I am to have meet you." Harry mumbled, gripping the horse's mane with trembling hands.  
The horse continued past the third boulder that Harry had been aiming for and he felt hope that he'd actually get of the mountain after all.  
"I hope that you know where you're going, because I have no clue where we are." Harry muttered, wondering if he was mad for talking to a horse. But as there were no one around he didn't care, it was nice to talk to someone after having been alone in the dark.  
They had made it down the mountain by a fair bit, by the time the sun started setting and Harry gazed around for somewhere to stop.

The path they'd travelled on, had at times been terrifying for Harry.  
The ground had been all but eroded at places and he'd felt sure that he and the horse would tumble down the sheer drop, to their deaths. But the horse seemed to be a true Gryffindor though and had simply charged on whenever Harry had tried to make it stop. In the end Harry had simply closed his eyes hard whenever they passed by a particularly scary place.  
Not that he'd ever felt scared of heights before but the thought of falling down from the height they were at, without a broom made him feel rather queasy.

"We should stop for the night, don't you think?" Harry asked, patting the horse's neck gently.  
It shook its head and Harry eyed it somewhat bemused.  
"Do you understand me?" He asked, feeling more than a little ridiculous but then he could talk to snakes, so why not a horse.  
The horse didn't show any reaction to his words and he shrugged.  
"We could stop by those boulders over there." Harry said, pointing at the area he was thinking of.  
The horse shook its head again and continued.  
Harry blinked and eyed the horse again.  
"Well, if you do understand me, I kind of need to relieve myself." He muttered, not up for jumping off a moving horse.  
The horse surprisingly stopped and bent its forelegs, letting Harry slip of its back easier. Harry hobbled away, rubbing his backside which was rather sore after being sat on a horse for most of the day. You'd think that he'd be used to it after years of Quidditch.

"There's a small stream here if you're thirsty!" Harry called, having spotted it a few paces from where he'd done his business.  
Harry bent down on his knees and greedily drank his fill of the clear water and watched as the horse did the same.  
"Maybe we should stay here and then continue in the morning?" Harry suggested, making the horse shake its head for a third time.  
Harry sighed but conceded that the horse had been able to get him thus far, even though Harry had felt sure they wouldn't make it.  
"Fine, but can I at least wash my feet before we go?" Harry said, sitting down on the ground. He carefully unwrapped the fabric and peeked at his sore feet. They looked almost worse than they felt and Harry sighed again before dipping them into the cool water. He washed the strips of fabric and then carefully stood and walked over to the waiting horse on tingling feet.  
He would let his feet air for a while, as he wouldn't be walking on them anyway.  
They continued through the night and Harry, who'd been tired earlier started perking up as the stars appeared in the sky.  
"You know, I don't recognise a single one of them." Harry muttered quietly to the horse, whilst looking up at the twinkling lights with a pensive look. They all seemed brighter as they shone down on him from the darkening sky.  
"I should, seeing as I studied them for six years." He added quietly, his eyes flitting from one star to the next trying to find one he knew.

A hollow screech sounded far behind them in the wilderness, making the horse hurry its pace a bit, and Harry wondered if that was why the horse didn't want to stop for the night.

A week later, according to Harry's calculations, saw them off the mountain. They'd travelled through a great expanse of land and Harry had learnt a fair few things about himself and some about the landscape he was travelling through.  
He wasn't alone with only beast around, as it had seemed when looking down the mountain.  
Harry had seen, things.  
Creatures, moving during the night hours. They moved warily and hid if even the slightest noise was made. Harry had managed to spot one under his tree one night and had shivered at the sight. The thing looked like something out of a nightmare, human sized but not human. A grotesque parody of a human, one that Harry would avoid regardless of the fact that the creatures moved with more fear of the surroundings than Harry himself.

He could survive rather well without magic it turned out, which he honestly felt rather surprised about having left the muggle world as an eleven year old. Being able to survive without much food, wasn't anything new as he'd survived at the Dursley's after all.  
He could fall asleep on a horses' back as easily as up in a tree or in a soft bed, but perhaps that was because he was getting so much fresh air. His feet had healed well enough for him to walk on but so far the ground had sent little chills up his feet, which had nothing to do with cold, and he'd avoided walking if he could.

Harry and the horse had stopped earlier in the day alongside a river with clear cold water and Harry was learning how to fish using the goblin sword as a spear. Perhaps not the most glamorous way of fishing, but he was having fun trying.  
It wasn't going all that well to be honest but Harry wasn't about to give up.  
He'd survived so far on berries and the occasional unripe apple and was glad to have the camping experience from hunting the Horcruxes, as he'd known which berries to avoid.  
Hermione had been a fountain of advice on what not to eat or touch and Harry had applied the rules here, even though he didn't recognise most of the plants. The easiest of her rules to remember were, don't eat the red ones and if the animals eat it, it should be safe for humans.

Harry wiped perspiration from his face and eyed the moving water intently, he was sure that he'd just seen a fish dart in front of his feet. He stood knee-deep in water and held the sword ready, having already missed at least five fishes, he was determined to get the next one.  
He missed and slipped instead on the slippery rocks that covered the riverbed. Crawling out of the river and chucking the sword onto the grass, he scowled at the fast flowing water before stretching himself out on his back in the sunshine.  
The sounds of the summer, slowly made his irritation go away and he looked around for the horse.  
It was grazing nearby on the bank, in the shade of the trees, and Harry wondered if they'd be staying by the river overnight. They'd stopped on only two of the nights so far and Harry had made a habit of sleeping up in a tree, safe from any creatures on the ground.  
The horse had left him alone both nights and Harry had been rather upset the first time, as he'd thought that the horse had abandoned him. But it had returned the next morning and Harry assumed that it simply went to sleep somewhere safe and now didn't worry as much whenever it left.

After soaking up the sun for a while, he felt ready for a second try. He'd catch a fish even if it took him the whole day.  
He carefully edged into the water and looked for the silver fishes he'd seen earlier.  
Stabbing downwards, lightning fast with the sword, he cursed as he missed again before quickly grasping the tail of the fish with his fingers and heaving it up in his arms. The sword sank to the bottom of the river but Harry managed to find it with his foot and quickly lifted it from the water. He made it up on the bank and couldn't help letting out a little cheer of triumph as he eyed the fish on the ground.  
Success!  
Now all he needed was a fire and he knew how to make one of those, thanks to Dudley. His cousin had started a fire one autumn, in one of the leaf piles that Harry had raked as a chore, using Harry's glasses and the sun.

That evening Harry enjoyed his first real meal since arriving and it tasted glorious after being cooked over his handmade fire.  
The horse had left him a while ago and Harry was just sitting there on the ground, enjoying the mild evening feeling rather proud of himself. He had always been able to survive before too, but it felt different doing it without the aid or possibility of magic.  
Although that was not to say that magic didn't exist where he was, with or without a wand.  
He had slowly become aware of something different in the air, something that travelled up his feet whenever they touched the ground. It was as if magic was all around, humming quietly in the background, teasing him with its presence. Perhaps losing his wand had opened him up to the magic around him.  
He'd be sitting on the horse and feel something on the wind, something that whispered at his senses, he just wasn't able to understand it. The horse seemed able to though, it would flick its ears in the winds direction and react to it, either by stopping or changing their course.

Harry sat in front of the fire now with his back to a tree, watching and listening as the evening unfolded, not quite ready to climb the tree for the night.  
His stomach was full and he felt more relaxed than he had for a long time. He hoped that everyone was alright at home but other than that he wasn't too bothered anymore about his journey into wonderland.

"Ssso warm and lovely, warm ssun trapped ground." A voice whispered contently, making Harry look around until he spotted the silver snake on the ground.

"Hello." Harry greeted, making the small snake jerk into a defensive stance. It stared at him intently before slowly lowering its body back onto the ground at the lack of hostile movement.

"Bright one, I sseek only the warmth, I mean no harm." The snake hissed, making Harry shrug.

"You can share my fire, it is nice with company." Harry said, making the snake slowly, slither closer.

"I have not sspoken in thiss way with one of your kind before." The snake said, sounding rather intrigued.

"Not many of my kind know how to." Harry answered, wondering if the snake felt as surprised to talk to him as he'd been that first time at the zoo.

"The dark taint hass disssapated from the air, it doess not taste as it did before. The rabbits taste better now as well." The snake hissed, sounding pleased with the last bit of its information. Harry wondered what the snake meant.

"The dark taint?" Harry asked, making the snake nod its little head.

"The dark one hass left, I feel his sservantss linger in placess but most of hiss creaturess are drawing back, hiding away in the cold ground." The snake answered, making Harry stiffen slightly.

"You mean the dark lord?" Harry asked, looking around furtively.

"Yess, I wass not called to do hiss bidding, my being sso ssmall and insignificant." The snake hissed, giving Harry a quick look.  
"Your kind hass not sso much to fear from his call though, your brightness sshieldss you well." It added, confusing Harry somewhat.

"Can you feel the presence of his creatures here?" Harry asked, wondering if perhaps the goblins were working with the Deatheater's that were still on the run. He wasn't sure what the creatures he'd seen skulking about were, but they did look as if they'd be just the kind of creatures Voldemort would have looked for.

"Not here, your brightness sshines like a beacon and would sscare them away. I did not ssense you at first, but you are growing brighter now as the ssun goddess goes to sleep." The snake answered, making Harry look down at his hands suspiciously.  
They looked normal to him, perhaps it had to do with him being a wizard.

"Have you seen any of my kind lately?" Harry asked, eyeing the snake hopefully.  
He and the horse had seen some people, far off in the distance, on their journey but the horse had refused to ride that way, which had made Harry somewhat weary to call out. The horse had after all kept him safe so far and they were hopefully travelling towards help.

"Not in many ssun upss time." The snake answered curling up close to the embers from the dying fire, making Harry sigh before realising that the snake took longer to travel than him.  
He climbed the tree feeling hopeful of at least getting closer to civilisation, what with the snake having met people somewhat recently.

The next morning he was a little disappointed at not finding the little snake on the ground, but as the horse signalled that it was time to leave he shrugged, it had been a nice encounter at least.  
He took several gulps of the cool water in the river before getting on the horse, giving his fishing spot a fond look. Maybe he'd come back someday, once he found out where he was. Do a bit of camping out on his own or with Ron and Hermione.  
They travelled alongside the river all day and Harry was grateful for the shade of the trees when the sun was at its hottest. He'd pocketed the cloak, which was too hot to wear and enjoyed the occasional slow breeze that caressed his face.  
He grimaced after rubbing his neck as his hand came away sweaty, the heat was getting to him and he was in need of a long overdue haircut.  
Eventually the horse left the riverside and they entered a purple landscape, heather in full bloom as far as the eye could see and Harry doubted that they'd ever find a city and people.

But as the second week, since being dropped down the rabbit hole, drew to an end, so did their travel.  
The horse led the way down a steep path leaving the heather moor behind.  
Harry could see a building down in the valley and was filled with hope of finally getting to civilization.  
As they drew nearer, the building grew and Harry could hear music and laughter carried by the wind. It filled his chest with a warm feeling, at the same time as his eyes grew wet. The song that was being sung, was both hopeful and sad as it told of victory and goodbyes.  
The horse came to a stop a bit up the path and Harry got of its back. He pulled the cloak on even as the horse snorted at him, as if to say that there was no need for hiding.  
Harry didn't feel as if he was in any danger but he wanted to get a look at the people before they saw him.  
He quietly made it down the path, slowly followed by the horse.

"Is it not strange, how I hear the patter of light feet and the hooves of a horse, yet see nothing but a horse walking down the path?" A soft voice asked from up above, slightly behind Harry, making him freeze in his tracks.

"Ay so it is, it has stopped now though. How peculiar that a horse, which left with on its own should return with an invisible guest trailing along." A second voice added, making Harry's head swivel the other direction, slightly ahead of him.

A tall, cloaked person dropped down on the path before him and a second snuck up to the horse, which snickered rather pleasantly in greeting. Harry stiffened at the sight of them as they were both wearing cloaks. One of the men was holding a bow with an arrow already strung and Harry could see that the second was gripping a sword readily.  
"Did you enjoy your travels Asfaloth?" The first speaker asked the horse softly whilst glancing around for Harry. The horse nodded a couple of times before motioning for them to move forwards. The man laughed and slid his hood down slowly, revealing long blond hair.  
"Food and rest you shall have now that you have returned home." The man said, patting the horse softly letting himself relax slightly. The second man looked rather unwilling to relax though but followed the first man and the horse when they moved forwards.  
Harry was forced to move with them not wanting to be left behind, making both of the men glance around as if in search of him. The horse, used to Harry's invisibly took no notice as usual. Harry wondered if the men were wizards or muggles. They wore cloaks but hadn't drawn any wands and what wizard would be carrying a sword or a bow. What muggle would be carrying the rather ancient weapons for that matter, a gun was far deadlier.

"Uncomfortable the thought of invisible walkers make me. Should I not know that our friend Bilbo was kept busy in the keep, I'd guess he was the culprit of this prank even with his magic ring gone." The second man said, sounding a little put out at not being able to find Harry. He kept glancing around himself, his back rigid and his hand still on the sword. Harry mood lifted at hearing the M-word, so they were wizards after all, that was good.

"I doubt that our friend here would allow evil to enter our dale, would you friend?" The blond asked the horse, which ignored him in favour of speeding up now that the house came into full view.

Harry stopped in awe at what he was seeing before him, making the two men stop as well, even though the horse continued on its way.  
A bridge was leading the path towards a beautiful house, lit up from inside with warm light.  
The house felt almost as welcoming to Harry as Hogwarts always had and he couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped him, he was sure that he'd come to a safe place at last. He walked towards the house with light steps and then stopped, wondering what to do next.  
The two men had followed and now stopped as well, glancing at each other before turning their gazes towards the golden-haired man, whom had stepped through the doorway of the house.

"Asfaloth, you have returned, were did you travel without your friend and rider?" The man asked, moving towards the horse with a smile. He gave the two men in front of Harry a curious look, prompting them to speak.

"An invisible friend he has brought with him, we think." The blond said looking around for the silent Harry, making the golden-haired man eye them even more curiously. Harry wondered if perhaps it was time he revealed himself, it did feel rather odd that they knew he was there without being able to see him.  
He slowly opened his cloak and watched as the men stepped back in shock. The second man having pulled his sword out before lowering it in surprise.

"A child!" The first man exclaimed, eyeing Harry as if unable to believe his eyes.  
Harry's brows furrowed ever so slightly. The men were all much taller than he could ever dream of becoming, but it was rather rude of them to call him a child when they all seemed only a few years older than himself.

"I'm seventeen, soon eighteen years old." Harry said, keeping his irritation at bay, he did after all look a bit younger than most of his age.  
"I'm a little lost and was wondering if I might bother you with directions." Harry said.

The golden-haired man moved away from the horse and closer to Harry before lifting a hand to Harry's head.  
"A baby still, where are your parents sweet child?" He asked softly, gazing down at Harry with wonder in his eyes, making Harry scowl.

"I am not a child and my parent's whereabouts is of no concern to you." Harry snapped stepping out of the man's reach, gripping his cloak tightly with his fists, he was tired of being treated as a child. More people we gathering and Harry felt his cheeks warm at the sight of them. They were all of a tall sort, making him wonder what they were feed with as children, he'd never meet so many tall people at once.

"To elves as old as us, you are but an infant but we shall try to treat you as if you were older." The horse owner said stepping closer, making Harry eye him strangely.

"Elves?" He asked, wondering just who these men were and what they were on about, they eyed him back just as strangely at his tone

"Ay, elves." The golden-haired man said softly, eyeing Harry curiously.  
"I am Glorfindel and you have come to Imladris, house of Elrond, we welcome you here." The man added with a smile.

"Elves as in, related to house elves?" Harry asked carefully, playing along with their little game. Maybe it was a cult, he'd heard Uncle Vernon talk about freakish cults and the oddballs who joined them. Perhaps this was a wizarding version of a cult.

"We live here in this house yes. Have you meet the wood elves perhaps?" Glorfindel asked, eyeing him curiously still.

"Um, no…just house elves." Harry answered, wondering if they were serious in thinking that they were some sort of elves.

"But come little elf, come in and rest." Glorfindel said, motioning for Harry to enter the still welcoming house, despite the people.

"I'm a wizard, not an elf." Harry said clearly, making the man's brows rise.

"An Istari? Hm…elven you seem to me, but please enter and we shall soon have the matter sorted." Glorfindel said calmly, making the others nod in agreement.  
Harry frowned but moved forwards, he'd ended up in the nut house it seemed.  
Oh well, hopefully there would be someone normal here, who could help him get home.

_**So, what do you think? Like it? Thanks for reading, please do leave a comment: ) Elerosse**_


	4. The London Elf

_**Ok, here is the next chapter: ) Thank you all for reading and reviewing, it's so exciting to hear what you think of the story.  
Just a note to say that I don't do pointy ears, never got the feeling that the elves had any points to start with. They look like men, just better and more… well, more…  
Just so that you know…  
On with the story: ) elerosse**_

_previously…_  
_"An Istari? Hm…elven you seem to me, but please enter and we shall soon have the matter sorted." Glorfindel said calmly, making the others nod in agreement._  
_Harry frowned but moved forwards, he'd ended up in the nut house it seemed._  
_Oh well, hopefully there would be someone normal here, who could help him get home._

* * *

**The London elf**

Glorfindel led the somewhat bemused Harry into the warmly lit house. The other two men left them and returned towards the path where they'd heard Harry and the horse arrive.  
There were a lot of people moving about, all of them as tall as the other. Harry wondered if they had a smidgen giant blood in them but as they appeared normal in all other ways he wasn't sure.  
He ignored the looks cast his way with practised ease and instead studied the interior of the house. Everything about the place called out to him, it was peaceful and warm.  
"May I inquire on your name?" Glorfindel asked, giving Harry an even look.

"Harry Potter." He answered, glancing at the man quickly before looking away again.

"Harry Potter." Glorfindel repeated, eyeing Harry curiously.  
"Are you perhaps of Noldorian descent?" He asked, making Harry eye him strangely.

"Um I don't think so, I live in London." Harry finally answered, not used to that being the response after his name was given.

"None from Lindon has sent word of your conception, strange that they would withhold such happy tidings." The man mused, leading Harry through a brightly lit corridor and past many curious eyes.  
"And what of your parents? Why have they allowed you to travel on your own without escort?" Glorfindel added.

Harry thought that he could detect a hint of disapproval in the man's voice and felt he should defend his parents.  
"My mum and dad died when I was a baby." He said, not getting into the whole Voldemort saga as the man seemed unaware of who he was.

Glorfindel had come to a halt at Harry's words and now eyed him sadly.  
"My heart weeps for you but you shall be reunited with them again in the undying lands." Glorfindel said softly, patting Harry's shoulder gently before opening a door and leading Harry into a bedroom.  
"I shall have someone bring you water so that you may wash and then we will dine, a growing elf needs his food after all." He said, nodding at Harry before exiting the room.  
Harry eyed the closed door for a moment before shaking his head, feeling somewhat confused by the man who thought he was a house-elf.  
The room was bright and airy with a set of doors leading out onto a garden.  
Harry placed his sword on the bed and moved closer to the doors. He gazed out at the scenery, thinking that it felt rather odd being inside again after all the time spent outdoors and opened the doors to let some fresh air in. The sound of fast flowing water reaching his ears and a puff of sweet smelling air brushed his face, making him sigh softly.

He turned towards the door at the sound of a knock and looked on as three men carried in hot water for him. He followed them into the adjoining room and wondered at the lack of proper plumbing, was it perhaps a very old house. They left him a towel and some clean clothes before leaving him in peace, Harry was rather excited at being able to properly wash.  
He sighed though, as the last man to leave ruffled his hair playfully and only laughed at Harry's irritated scowl. Clearly they thought they were being funny treating him as if he was a baby but it was rather rude according to Harry.  
After washing off all the dirt he'd attracted on his journey here he dressed in the clothes the men had left with him, a green tunic and brown trousers, he still didn't have any shoes though.

His reflexion looked strange and different, Harry thought. He looked odd without his glasses and his skin was pale, even after having been out in the sun for such an extended amount of time.  
The thing that really caught his eye though, was his unblemished forehead. The scar, which had marked him as different since he was a baby, was gone. As was the others he'd collected throughout the years.  
Pondering how and where he'd been so mysteriously healed, he came up with only the mountain as answer. But then the matter of his bleeding feet became an issue, unless he'd been healed in the underwater pond he'd landed in when he first arrived.  
Was it a secret healing pond of the Goblins and why had they in that case thrown him in it, unless they wanted him fit for fighting the other beings he'd seen.  
Harry tore his eyes away from the mirror and gathered up the rags that were his old clothes, he left them in a small basket to be thrown out and pocketed the invisibility cloak. Opening the door he gave the corridor outside a curious look.  
He shrugged and decided to explore his way to a kitchen, Glorfindel had said that he would be given food after all.

Everywhere he looked there was one tall person after another, making him wonder if perhaps he was the one who'd shrunk rather than everyone else being freakishly tall.  
"Food is being served over this way, little one." A blond man called out in a teasing tone, motioning for Harry to follow.  
Harry grumbled under his breath about not being little but followed the man none the less. He entered a hall that, even though smaller, resembled The Great Hall.  
He spotted Glorfindel further up in the room and walked over at the man's beckoning, seating himself in the empty seat next to the man. He suffered the many stares sent his way and accepted the plate of assorted food gladly.  
He was so focused on the way the tender meat melted on his tongue and the freshness of the vegetables, that it took him a while to become aware of Glorfindel's stare.  
"Sorry." Harry mumbled, putting his fork down.

Glorfindel eyed him strangely.  
"Why do you apologise for enjoying your food?" The man asked.  
"Eat and be happy, that is what children should do." He added, smiling slightly at the face Harry pulled.

"Look, I'm seventeen not two! It's rather rude to keep on talking to me as if I was a small child." Harry snapped, eyeing not only Glorfindel but the rest of the room too.

"I apologise Harry, but to me you are but a new-born babe, I have walked these lands for thousands of years as have many others here." Glorfindel said, making Harry eye the man incredulously.  
"We mean no harm with our words but they are true to us none the less." Glorfindel added, smiling gently at Harry's continued stare. Harry wasn't sure if he should open his mouth or not, clearly the people here were living in some sort of fantasy world and he was loath to cause any grief with them. He took a deep breath before deciding not to bother, the food was far too good.  
"Have you not met any elves before now?" The man asked him, waiting for Harry to finish his bite of food.

"I've meet house elves before, but they don't look like you." Harry answered carefully making the man nod encouragingly.

"I gathered as much. With whom did you live before today if not with your elven family?" Was Glorfindel's next question.

"Well, after the death of my parents I was sent to live with my Aunt and Uncle, but they are muggles not wizards." Harry said, poking in his food.

"I have not encountered the word muggles before, is it a name or a definition?" Glorfindel asked, making Harry look up.

"It means that they don't have any magic." Harry explained, wondering if he was in fact breaking any laws at the moments. Were these people actually muggles pretending to be magical creatures, he wondered.

"All beings have magic in them, they were created by the Valar just as you and I." Glorfindel said softly, sipping on the wine in his glass.  
Harry eyed the man strangely again but decided to finish his food before starting a discussion.

After the meal he walked with Glorfindel outside on the patio and took a deep breath of air, feeling happy to be outside again.  
They got seated on a stone bench and then just sat there in silence, much to Harry's surprise. He'd been expecting a whole other round of questions to be fired at him and found it hard to relax at first.  
Several of the people moving about cast him curios looks but nobody disturbed them.  
As the sun dipped lower in the sky, the people slowly started disappearing inside.  
"The time for songs and stories is upon us, come and we shall listen to what is being told this evening." Glorfindel said standing up, Harry followed after giving the setting sun a last look.

He was taken to a large room were music already was playing, people were seated on the floor and a large fire was burning. Harry listened to the singing and marvelled at the magic it brought forth, images of far off lands and people filled his vision. The people here had to be wizards of some kind, to be able to bring magic out like this.  
There was a tiny old man seated in one corner and he caught Harry's eyes more than once, looking so odd next to all the young, tall people in the room. Harry didn't want to disturb the music by standing up, so he stayed where he was next to Glorfindel.  
Glorfindel just smiled at him and didn't speak until Harry yawned for what must be the fifth time in a row.  
"I think your bed is calling for you Harry, I had forgotten the needs of the young." He said, stroking Harry's hair gently before standing up. Harry rolled his eyes and stood reluctantly, following the man back to the room where he'd washed earlier.  
"I shall be off for Gondor at sunrise but you may stay here in Imladris for as long as you wish. There is no need to return to your mortal relatives now that you have found us." Glorfindel said, making Harry's brows furrow.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked, having never heard of a city by the name of Gondor.  
"Is London far away from here?" He added quickly, thinking that he might be able to leave for home if they just pointed him in the right direction.

"Lord Elrond's daughter is to be wed in a weeks' time, I wish to be there as she does. I have just been waiting for my wayward horse to return." Glorfindel answered with a smile, not looking all that bothered with Harry having occupied his horse for the past week or two.  
"Which part of Lindon do you call home?" He asked in return to Harry's second question.

"I live in the North west, close to King's Cross." Harry answered, feeling hopeful that he'd finally be told just where in the world he was.

"I do not know of The King's Cross but it is a fair trek to Forlond from here, almost as far as I will travel to get to Minas Tirith. Have you not just travelled from there though?" Glorfindel asked.

"I didn't leave London on purpose. It was the Goblins that had me sent to the mountains further up from here, the one with snow on top." Harry said, trying to figure out where in London a place called Forlond could be, bringing a frown to Glorfindel's face.

"You were held captive by the goblins? How were you caught and where?" Glorfindel demanded, looking rather fierce all of a sudden.  
Harry wasn't sure how to answer the question. Did he reveal that he'd been stupid enough to enter the goblin's domain freely and thereby prove the man's opinion of him being young and unable to care for himself? Or did he gloss it over as being unimportant?  
"Harry?" Glorfindel prompted after a spell of silence, making Harry blush.

"I guess it was my own fault really, I shouldn't have gone anywhere near them." Harry admitted, making Glorfindel move closer with a soft look in his eyes.

"It is not your fault at all Harry, it was the fault of your guardians. You should not have been left with mortals but brought to the elves after your parents passing." Glorfindel said, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder comfortingly.

Harry felt he deserved the coddling, he'd been rather stupid to trust the goblins after all.  
"I'm not elven, I'm a wizard." Harry said after a while, making Glorfindel pat his cheek softly.

"You are as elven as I am Harry." Glorfindel said with certainty, moving towards the door.  
"I shall see you again when I return with Lord Elrond's party from Gondor." He added eyeing Harry, who still stood in the centre of the room.

"I need to go back to London before that, do you know if there are any wizards living nearby?" Harry asked quickly before the man exited the room completely, thinking that he may be able to use a floo connection to make the journey faster.

Glorfindel eyed him with a troubled look and stepped into the room again.  
"I wish that you should stay here Harry, where it is safe and you would be with our own kind." Glorfindel said, making Harry's chin rise in protest.  
"But if you are intent on finding a wizard you may as well accompany me to Minas Tirith, where the wizard Gandalf is." He said before sighing somewhat sadly as Harry immediately nodded.  
"Get to bed then, we leave at sunrise." He said, before leaving the room.  
Harry walked over to the bed and placed the sword on the floor before getting onto the sheets still wearing his clothes. He used the invisibility cloak as a cover against the night air, coming in through the still open doors, and fell asleep without even trying.

He woke by someone shaking his shoulder gently and quickly sat up at the sight of Glorfindel. Was it morning already, he wondered rubbing his eyes.  
"Do you still insist on finding a wizard?" Glorfindel asked, making Harry nod tiredly.  
Harry stumbled out of the bed and yawned before picking up is sword from the floor.  
"I have brought you shoes to wear." Glorfindel said smiling at Harry's dishevelled appearance, the man himself didn't seem to have a single strand of hair out of place.  
Harry slipped his feet into the shoes and marvelled at the soft, light feel of them. Glorfindel also handed him a flask and a sandwich, which Harry took even though he wasn't hungry at the moment. He'd just eat it on the way, he thought before pocketing them.  
He was led outside to two waiting horses and unconsciously made for the white one before remembering that the horse belonged to Glorfindel.  
"I am sure Asfaloth would continue to carry you if you wish it." Glorfindel said motioning for Harry to choose which horse he wanted. Harry went for Asfaloth without much thought and laughed as the horse nudged him in greeting.

"You'll lead me in the right direction, won't you?" Harry asked, getting a nod in response from the horse. He got astride easily and watched as Glorfindel got on the second horse. They left the house with some of the people waving them off.

They rode long and hard, at the bottom of high mountains that seemed to stretch on forever, only stopping at nights because Glorfindel thought that Harry needed the rest.  
Glorfindel told Harry of elven history and sang songs that he thought Harry should know, he'd yet to get Harry to sing though as Harry firmly stated that he couldn't and wouldn't. Glorfindel eyed him sadly every time he declined to sing, as if Harry was missing out on something wonderful. Harry on the other hand didn't want to butcher the lovely songs he was being taught.  
As they travelled, Harry was growing more and more uncomfortable within himself as the stories he was being told were starting to sound plausible. The land was causing him concern too, he didn't recognise anything and had yet to see anything familiar like a telephone mast or any airplanes. Surely all the land they'd travelled through didn't belong to wizards or magical creatures, there had to be some muggles around somewhere.  
He was starting to think that he really had ended up on a different planet and that he was the odd one, out of the two of them.  
Glorfindel still insisted that Harry was an elf and Harry was getting rather desperate for any sign of his magic manifesting so that he could prove the man wrong.

Whenever he tried to do something however, he just felt the magic that was in the surrounding area. It was as if he'd lost his magic and that the world had gained too much.  
Hogwarts and its grounds had always seemed rather powerful but he'd never felt magic like he did now.  
It was whispered in the wind, tickled his skin when he touched the ground and even in the water that rushed by in the streams and rivers they passed.  
They rode past places that felt wrong and places that felt just right. They passed small villages and houses as they rode, but never stopped to approach them. Glorfindel would just say that they weren't at the right place yet or that the people weren't for elves to bother about.  
When they finally got to an end of the long mountain chain they had been following Harry was glad to see a wide valley between it and the next mountain. He could see in the distance a tall tower which Glorfindel told him was called The Iron Fortress, Harry thought it looked rather sinister overlooking the valley.

The next day around noon, Glorfindel made them hurry their pace slightly.  
"There is Arwen's party." He finally pointed out and Harry spotted a group of people walking far off in the distance.  
As he and Glorfindel got nearer, the group of people stopped to wait for them.  
"Well met!" Glorfindel called out, smiling at two of the men, who stepped towards them as he got off his horse. Both men smiled in return before turning to give Harry a searching look.  
"This is Harry Potter, Harry this is Lord Elrond's two sons Elladan and Elrohir" Glorfindel introduced, prompting Harry to get off the horse.

"There is a brightness surrounding you as I have never seen before." One of them said in the way of greeting, gently stroking Harry's hair back from his face.  
Harry stepped out of the man's reach and positioned himself closer to Glorfindel. It was weird to have everyone reach of to touch him at all times.

Glorfindel nodded in agreement besides Harry.  
"The little elfling claims to be an Istari and grew up among mortal men, he walked into Imladris on his own before I managed to leave." Glorfindel explained causing more than one unbelieving stare in Harry's direction.  
"He has come with me to meet Gandalf." He added, making them nod slowly.

A beautiful girl, only slightly older than Harry, stepped forward and gave him a smile.  
"I am Arwen, will you walk with me Harry and tell me how it was to grow up among men?" She asked gently, making Harry glance at Glorfindel who nodded encouragingly.

They finished the journey to Minas Tirith on foot. Harry finally accepted that the people he walked with were elves, there were just too many of them saying the same thing. Arwen, he learnt, was much older than he'd thought. All of them were older than he thought and taller.  
Arwen had laughed when he had pointed it out and reassuringly said that he too would grow given time. Harry had pointed out, more than once, that he wasn't an elf like the rest of them but everyone just gave him humoured looks.  
They finally reached the city walls and made it up the cobbled streets under the amazed stare of many people.  
Harry was rather pleasantly surprised to find that he wasn't the only one stared at but also worried as he could see for himself finally, that he was different from the _normal_ people. He did have a glow about him, just like the elves but tried to convince himself that it was his magic shining through.

A man waited in a courtyard at the very top of the city and Harry could see that he was related to Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen, was he another brother Harry wondered.  
"Father." Elladan greeted, making Harry's jaw drop. The man did not look old enough to be the father of three grown up children.  
Lord Elrond greeted his children and then eyed Harry curiously. Harry followed Arwen, who pulled him towards the stone wall, leaving her father to converse with the others.

"Today I leave my father for the last time, I am filled with both sadness and happiness." She said quietly, making Harry pull his eyes from the men and focus on her.

"Won't you be able to visit?" He asked, wondering at her pensive look.

She gave him an even look and shook her head.  
"My father will sail for the west soon and take many of our people with him. I will stay here until my days have ended." She said, making him eye her strangely.

"Well can't he just sail back and visit?" Harry asked confused, making her blink.

"The elves are leaving Middle Earth for the last time, for the time of men will begin now." A voice said behind them, bringing a gentle smile to Arwen's face and a frown to Harry's.  
Middle earth, was all Harry focused on, he'd never been aware of there being a divide.  
Lord Elrond gazed into Harry's eyes searchingly and Harry quickly emptied his mind, knowing that look rather well.  
"Your past is shrouded in mystery, too dim for me to see." Elrond said reaching out with a hand towards Harry before sighing when Harry stepped out of his reach.  
"Glorfindel tells me that you wish to speak with Gandalf." He said lightly, making Harry nod.

"If he's a wizard yes." Harry answered, making Elrond nod.

"My daughter is to be wed now, but after I have given her hand away I will introduce you to Gandalf." Elrond said, making Harry feel that, finally something was going right. Arwen stepped closer to her father, who placed his hand gently on her cheek. The emotions clearly written in their eyes made Harry look away, it felt rude to intrude on their moment.  
He spotted a tall dead tree in the courtyard and walked over to it curiously, why would they have a dead tree planted here?

Placing his hand on it, he felt none of the magic he had grown accustomed to feeling whenever he touched something. He took his hand away and shook his head, feeling rather sad without knowing why.  
"This tree is a descendant of Nimloth the fair." Glorfindel said, having snuck up on Harry.

"The one from your story?" Harry asked, looking at the tree in disbelief as it would mean it was hundreds if not thousands of years old.  
"Why is it still here? I mean, it's obviously dead." Harry questioned, placing his hand back on the tree.

"But hope isn't." Glorfindel said quietly, patting Harry's shoulder.  
"Come Harry, Arwen is to wed the king and then you may meet Gandalf." He added, steering Harry towards the other elves.

* * *

_**Phew, it was hard work finishing this chapter and I'm not sure why… Hope you liked it, please let me know: )  
Elerosse**_**  
**


	5. The wizard

_**Hello, sorry for the long wait, who'd have known it would be so hard to continue writing. I had to reread the books and then I found another book and so on…Sorry. Anyway, hope you like this short chapter, I will try to up-date as soon as possible. (It is rather sunny and warm here though…So no promises.) Elerosse  
**_

* * *

**The wizard**

Harry had been exploring the castle and city during the week in Gondor, he had found a small garden hidden away from the constant throng of people walking in the halls, which he visited daily.  
He was feeling rather annoyed and insulted at the moment and felt that it was better if he just kept to himself, least he snap at them all and say something he might regret.  
Harry had yet to be introduced to the elusive wizard, as the man was ever so busy. Turns out they had been at war against The Dark lord too, or at least that was Harry's understanding from the snippets of conversation he'd managed to overhear from the elves talking.

Glorfindel had tried to introduce Harry to all the elves that had gathered for lady Arwen's wedding but Harry had soon grown tired of all the head patting, teasing and cooing. He had been using his cloak to avoid them for the past few days, along with trying to sneak his way to the wizard without luck.

Avoiding the elves didn't mean that Harry was avoiding everyone else though. He had made it somewhat of a game to escape his elven minders whenever he could and he was fairly sure that they didn't think he was all that cute anymore, judging from the annoyed expressions they now wore in his presence.  
So far he was winning the game and the elves were scrambling to catch him, he'd seen more than one eye his cloak with despair. Harry had made it abundantly clear to Glorfindel that the cloak was a heirloom, left for him by his father and the elf had promised that nobody would touch it. They has seen cloaks with abilities like his, Glorfindel had said. But the man was impressed with the quality of Harry's cloak though, as it was one of the finest he'd seen.  
Exploring the city was one of the few things that kept Harry from expiring from boredom, all the elves seemed to do was talk about their past and complain about the short life's of men. Harry thought that they were rather rude and had said so too, only to get his head patted and told that wisdom and knowledge came with age.

The city had proved to be somewhat of a shock once Harry made it out of the castle. He had search high and low for a telephone, thinking that he could at least try and get in contact with someone the muggle way or at least figure out a way to get word out of where he was. There were none to find, anywhere. Cars, electricity and other modern muggle things seemed to be missing too, as if this was the city time forgot.  
Harry had a bad feeling about it all and hoped that he would find some sort of communications device somewhere, but as he wasn't having that much luck figuring out where in the world he was, it wouldn't help if he did.  
The maps he'd managed to look at didn't make any sense at all.  
Sure, Hogwarts hadn't had any geography lessons but the lessons he'd had in muggle school had given him an idea of what the world looked like. It did not look like what the maps here showed, these maps didn't have any familiarity at all to them. Harry might not know where every country was or what they looked like but he was rather good at the European maps, as his class had focused on Europe during a Know-your-world week in fifth grade.

Not being able to talk to anyone in the city, other than the elves, was making him rather annoyed too. He had never heard of the language these people spoke in, some of them knew a few words of English but not enough to actually answer any questions. Harry had tried everything from drawings, hand gestures and even talking really, really slowly but so far he wasn't getting through to anyone.  
The people in the city seemed under the impression that he was an elf and treated him with a mixture of interest and a small amount of suspicion, which didn't make his mission of finding out where he was any easier. Damn those Goblins to hell, Harry was most definitely withdrawing all his money once he got back.

Walking the narrow streets and observing the people as they went about with their daily lives, at least made the time go a little faster. Harry enjoyed the market square the most, they sold every kind of food imaginable and Harry had made it his mission to try them all, small pleasure in an otherwise annoying world. Glorfindel had given Harry some silver coins, which Harry was using up on the strange fruits and freshly baked goods. He'd have to tell Ron about it when they next met, some of the food was actually really nice.  
The market was also noisy and full of people, which meant that Harry was able to blend in with the crowd more often than not. Here he could relax and just sit and ponder this unwanted adventure he was on.  
He wondered if Ron and Hermione had found her parents and if things had worked out alright, perhaps they'd arrived back already and were searching for him. Hermione was sure to figure out a way to get the goblins talking.

He was seated now in his secret garden at the castle, his back against one of the silver trees standing tall above his head, with his eyes closed. The magic he'd been able to feel pretty much as soon as he'd crawled out of the cave was getting more and more clear to him as each day passed. He wasn't sure why or how it had happened but he was learning to enjoy it.  
The whisper of the wind had started to actually sound like something he could sort of understand. Not really words as such, just magic. Even the water he drank seemed to be trying to tell him something.

It was the plants though that called to him the clearest, the tree he was leaned against had been telling him a slow moving story of its life from when it was a seedling. They had only reached the trees first winter after three days of storytelling but Harry didn't mind.  
There was something wonderful about being able to understand a tree. The tree imparted its story so clearly, that Harry thought he could see the gardeners of old that had tended the tree and hear the whispering of stars above his head. It was almost as if he was inside a pensive, able to observe everything as if he had been there himself.  
He understood for the first time Neville's love for plants, if the other man had been aware of even half of what Harry was experiencing now, it must have been very hard to go inside and away from the magic of the plants in the greenhouse.

A small sound made him open his eyes and he blinked at the sight of one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen seated on the bench before him. He hadn't heard her approach and now eyed her quietly. Her hair was golden and she seemed lit up from inside with a soft light, like all the elves he'd met.  
Harry eyed her curiously from his position on the ground and suffered her even stare in return.

"I finally have the honour of meeting you, young Harry Potter. I am Galadriel, Queen of Caras Galadhorn." She said evenly, making Harry look away disappointed at having the same conversation again about how young he was.

"Nice to meet you, your highness." Harry mumbled, still from his seat on the ground.

"Where do you hail from Harry Potter?" She asked after a short spell of silence, still eyeing him intently.

"London, your highness." Harry answered, not wanting to be disrespectful even though the elves clearly had no trouble.

"You may address me as Lady Galadriel, I am not queen here in Gondor after all." Galadriel said, making Harry shrug. They sat for a moment in silence again staring at each other, Harry partly listening to the tree.

"Your past is shrouded in mist, to dense for me to pierce. I see you here and now before me but your tomorrow is yet to be written." Galadriel said suddenly, snapping Harry into the here and now. The queen was gazing at him with a small furrow on her brow, as if not used to being denied access to a person's past and future.

"Are you a seer?" Harry asked suspiciously, hoping he wasn't about to hear that he would die in a most gruesome way, a' la Trelawney.

"I see more than most." Was Galadriel's cryptic answer.

"I'm not elven or a child, I'm a wizard." Harry said, throwing it out there as a gauntlet for her to pick up if she wished.

She eyed him for a long moment in silence, her eyes searching his very soul it seemed.  
"You were born a mortal, then half faded and now you have travelled fully into the light." She said at last making him fidget, her words sounding far too much like Luna's for Harry's liking.  
"Age is not only counted in years and we elves count more so than most. You seem so full of light, it is as if you were born just days passed, yet your eyes speak of hard toil and deep emotions only attained by experience." She added making Harry swallow hard, he felt almost stiff with relief that she believed him just like that.  
"I do not see you clearly, for the light that comes of you is like the brightest of stars, I cannot tell you where your journey will take you or which way you should head. Perhaps you are here for a reason, either for yourself or for Middle earth." She said gazing down at him and Harry swallowed hard again.

"Can you hear the trees talking?" Harry asked, before realising what a strange question it was. But as the tree behind his back was singing to her, he thought that he might just get away with not coming of as a total loon.

"Not as clearly as those in my homeland, but he sings beautifully." She said with a smile, patting the bench beside her, inviting Harry to come closer.  
Harry stood and joined her on the seat, brushing some soil of his trousers before sitting down.  
He liked her he decided, she was normal compared to the rest of the elves and seemed to get that he wasn't a baby to coddle. They sat talking in the garden as the sun dipped lower, Harry telling her some of his story and Galadriel telling him of her home high up in the trees. Harry thought that living in a treehouse sounded rather intriguing, he wouldn't mind seeing her city.

"Here is my Lady, whom I have been in search of, seated under the starry strewn sky." A man's voice interrupted, just as Galadriel was telling Harry more about her forest. Harry turned and eyed the man who came walking towards them, he was no doubt Lady Galadriel's husband and carried himself with self-assuredness.  
"Well met and may you continue to shine as you are now." The man said, having eyed Harry for a moment in silence, before giving Harry a gentle smile.

"Hello, nice to meet you." Harry greeted standing up and holding his hand out.  
The other man didn't miss a beat but grasped Harry's hand firmly with both of his own and brought it to his chest making Harry blink.  
"Erm, you're supposed to shake it." Harry mumbled, wondering if this was a ritual of sorts or whether the elves simply didn't shake hands.

"Why shake a hand?" The man asked, eyeing Harry interestedly, answering Harry's question.

"Erm…Just as a way of greeting, no real reason other than that, I think." Harry answered, refusing to analyse why it was that one did shake hands rather than hug them to the chest.

"The evening meal is to be served, will you join us tonight perhaps? We are dining in our own quarters tonight." Lord Galadhorn asked, giving Harry an even look.  
Harry, who'd been given food by the cook whenever he sneaked by and in that manner escaped the annoying looks cast his way, nodded slowly. He'd have dinner with them if got to sit with Lady Galadriel.  
She was alright for an elf.

After his dinner with the Queen and King, Harry made his way to his own chamber and opened the door feeling somewhat happier than before.  
He knew as soon as he set eyes on the man seated by his table, that he was finally meeting the wizard. The man reminded him so much of Dumbledore it was uncanny, not that they looked alike per say, it was the feel of the man.  
Harry stepped into the room and closed the door, eyeing the man curiously, suddenly unsure of what to say now that the moment had arrived.

"I am Gandalf the white." Gandalf said evenly, eyeing Harry closely, making Harry's heart hammer. Did the man know of him, he wondered.  
The man pulled an old pipe out from his pocket and motioned for Harry to get seated.  
Harry slowly sank down in his own seat and eyed as smoke drifted up from the pipe on its own, Gandalf eyed him with searching eyes before sighing.  
"Hmm…what an interesting conundrum you are young Master Potter." He said, making Harry frown at again being addressed as young once again.

"Look I just want some floo powder or perhaps a port-key and then I'll leave. My friends are no doubt worried as I have been lost for ages." Harry said tiredly, crossing his fingers for a positive response.  
Gandalf let out a ring of smoke and hummed non-committedly.  
"I can pay you for it as soon as I get home." Harry added, feeling slightly irritated at the continued silence from the man.

"I am afraid I hold no knowledge of floo-powders and I am rather curious as to what you would need the key to the Gondorian port for." Gandalf finally said, watching as Harry bit his lower lip hard to keep from screaming. Harry cursed this backwards place he'd ended up in, with all its strange and useless people.

"You are a wizard aren't you?" Harry questioned, wondering if Glorfindel had led him on a goose chase and the man before him was one of the loonies.

"I am indeed." Gandalf answered, eyeing Harry with a twinkle in his eyes, clearly enjoying this far more than Harry.

Harry frowned, not at all impressed with the wizard.  
"Can you at least tell me how to get to London and where in the world we are, if you please?" Harry asked, in an as polite tone as he could bite out.

"Hmm…we are far from the city of Lindon, what errand do you have there Master Potter?" Gandalf asked, interestedly.

"I live there, at Grimmauld place, Kings cross, London." Harry said, ever so slowly.  
"England, Great Britain." He added, just to be more precise, in case it would help.

"I know of Lindon. But am unfamiliar with the rest I'm afraid." Gandalf said, making Harry blink as something suddenly caught his ear.

"Not Lindon, London." Harry pointed out, making the wizard hum and draw another puff on his pipe slowly.  
"Look, where are we if we're not in England?" Harry asked, hoping to finally get a clear and understandable answer.

"We are in Gondor, in Middle Earth." Gandalf said, making Harry frown at the term Middle being used again.

"What do you mean by Middle? Isn't earth just earth?" Harry asked, making the other man eye him intently for a moment.

"Just where is it you are from my boy?" Gandalf asked more to himself than Harry.  
Harry jumped high, when Gandalf hand suddenly grabbed hold of his chin in a firm grip. The two wizards locked eyes for a while and Harry felt a shiver pass down his spine. The man's eyes were hard as they gazed into his own.  
"Who are you?" Gandalf finally asked curiously, before releasing Harry's chin from the hard grip it had been in.  
"You say you are a wizard but clearly you are an elf, yet you were once a man." Gandalf muttered before drawing another puff on his pipe and leaning back in his chair, with a thoughtful look on his face.

"I am not an Elf!" Harry exclaimed angrily, tired of having to defend himself.  
"I'm not!" He added as he rubbed his chin, at the look Gandalf gave him.

"Tell me everything young Master Harry, how did you get to Rivendell?" Gandalf asked, making Harry sigh tiredly.  
The wizard sat quiet and nearly motionless, throughout Harry's story about the goblins and his journey down from the mountain. Harry noticed that the man's pipe had gone out by the time he finished the story.  
"Hmm…" Was all Gandalf said, making Harry roll his eyes.  
"I do not think you are home anymore, my boy. I have travelled far and wide and I have never heard of this country of England." Gandalf said, making Harry sigh again.  
"Perhaps your mortal days came to an end. I do not pretend to understand how it is that you came to be here or how it is that you have appeared as you are. But know that you are an elf, a young elf at that." Gandalf said, ignoring the annoyed look on Harry's face.  
"The Valar work in mysterious ways, perhaps you caught their interest." He continued, watching Harry drop down in his seat.

"The Valar are the Gods right? I really think it is more likely that I was sent here by magic, than by the wills of gods." Harry grumbled, trying to remember the stories Glorfindel had told him, as he watched the old wizard drew a breath from his smoking pipe again.

"Eru and the Valar are the creators of all, magic is also their making." Gandalf said, smiling when Harry struggled to keep back a yawn.  
"Ah, what a long time it is since I last meet such a young elf as yourself, bedtime I think. We shall be travelling soon, you are of course coming with us as it will be good for you." He said, making Harry frown.

"I am not an elf and the only place I want to travel to, is home." Harry said, watching as the old man rose from his seat.

"You are an elf now and I don't think you will find your home here on Middle Earth. Perhaps you will find it once we sail across the sea." Gandalf said softly, before leaving Harry alone with his dark mood.

"I'm not sailing across anything with you!" Harry barked at the closed door.  
The man was as infuriating as Dumbledore, with his half-truths and twinkly eyes.

* * *

_**So, what do you think? Elerosse**_


	6. A Light in the Dark

_**Phew, another chappie done. Hope you like it : ) Elerosse  
**_

* * *

**A LIGHT IN THE DARK**

Harry tried not to glare at the old wizard, riding further ahead on the road, as he himself slowly walked with the elves through the ever changing landscape.

Gandalf the white had forced Harry to come on an educating adventure, as he called it. More like a funeral walk as they were following a dead man to his last resting place.  
Harry had declined the offer of accompanying them on their journey politely, he'd been to too many funerals already, then argued and finally threatened to no avail.  
The great wizard had rapped him on the head with his walking stick and told Harry to free his mind of its tight shackles and learn to mind his elders. The elves, to their credit, had given Gandalf glares at the use of violence and told him to still his hands or else. Caldor, an elf often assigned to Harry duty, had actually made a move towards his bow which he always carried making Harry wonder if he'd actually been about to use it.  
The wizard had responded good naturedly, that once would hopefully be enough and not to worry, he wouldn't bash any more wisdom into the little elflings head. Caldor had cautioned him to keep that promise.

Harry had been invited to ride with the wizard and his companions but had decided to stay with Lady Galadriel's group of elves instead. They were still acting more normal than most of the elves he'd met so far and didn't treat him like a toddler. Besides, Harry felt like grabbing the stick from the other wizard and bash him with it.  
He figured that he still had a nice sized egg on his head, despite what Lord Elrond said to the contrary.

"One must listen with more than ones ears, if hoping to hear all the sounds that travel." Celeborn said quietly, gazing forwards with keen eyes as they walked. He had been teaching Harry about how to view the world in a different way, now that Harry was in one place again.  
Harry cocked his head to the side and followed the elf's eyes curiously.  
"No, no little one, don't search with your eyes. First you listen and feel, then you use your other senses!" Celeborn admonished softly, covering Harry's eyes and leaving him with no other choice than to listen. Harry ignored the comment about his age and size, they never listened to him anyway and did as the elf had said.  
"What do you hear?" The man asked, after a short spell of silence.

"The wizard talking to the Hobbit people, birds singing in the trees and the sound of lots of people walking." Harry answered, walking forwards hesitantly, he wasn't sure he liked walking blinded.

"Now, what do you feel?" Celeborn asked.

"Erm…the wind?" Harry suggested tentatively, sighing with relief as the elf gave him back his sight.

"That is good for a start, listen to what the wind is saying though and perhaps you will hear more. Now you listen, feel and see as we continue." Celeborn said, smiling at him.  
Harry nodded in understanding, he had been hearing something in the wind after all. He was just unable to hear it clearly enough to understand.

"It will be easier when we are still and resting, the patter of many feet on the ground makes it hard to sort the sounds from each other." Caldor said from behind and Harry nodded again.

The journey to the city of Edoras took almost nineteen days, what with the slow speed they were travelling at.  
Lord Celeborn had said that it would be disrespectful to hurry the mans passing anymore and that it gave them all time to socialise with one another.  
Harry had already guessed that the elves didn't go out and meet the common people very often, judging from the stares they got where ever they went. Lord Celeborn had given him an even stare at the comment before sighing and making another comment about Harry's tender age.

They finally reached Edoras at nightfall, having walked a rather steep incline the last few days, the stars glittered high above the mountains. The inhabitants of the city had lit lanterns and stood motionless as they walked past.  
Harry couldn't help but be reminded of how it felt to watch someone be carried to their last resting place.  
The few days they stayed in the city, were spent with the people in mourning. Clearly this Théoden man had been important to them all, as they spoke of him with great respect.  
Harry, on the other hand, had barely left Caldor's side as the man wasn't one for socialising, meaning that they had gone exploring the surroundings instead of staying in the city.  
Caldor had offered to teach Harry how to use a bow, once he got one that fit Harry's smaller frame. Harry just wished he had his wand back, he had not gotten even a bit used to not having it close.

It was strange to leave Edoras behind, once they left, as there only seemed to be largely elves in the group now as they travelled onwards. The only non-elves around were Gandalf and his companions and the King and his people.

On the third day since leaving Edoras the elves, like everybody else, gathered together in the evening readying themselves for another night out in the open.  
Harry followed his group to a cluster of trees, where a small clearing appeared and picked a nice spot for himself. He didn't offer to help with the gathering of food as the elves were far better at it than him, besides they kept patting him on the head whenever he asked.  
After eating the food seated close to lady Galadriel, who entertained him with more stories of her home, he returned to the spot he'd chosen under one of the trees before getting himself comfortable.  
As the day slowly edged to an end, the elves started their storytelling and singing, Harry was happy to listen as usual but refused to participate no matter how many looks he was getting. They had pretty much all tried to get him to sing at one point, but Harry wasn't about to make a fool of himself by opening his mouth. Besides, he'd never be able to sing like all of the others, so why butcher their songs?

His eyes were gradually getting heavier, as the sun sunk lower, and he let the soft singing of the elves lull him to sleep.  
The gentle breeze ruffled his hair and he burrowed under the cloak into a more comfortable position, wondering how far they were going to travel. Perhaps he'd ride, rather than walk tomorrow, but not with the wizard he thought.  
He slipped in and out of sleep for a moment before sinking into a deep slumber.

He woke to the feeling of his skin slowly warming up, as if he was lying in the sunshine and he opened his eyes curiously.  
There was a person, lit up like the sun, standing at the edge of the trees and Harry had to shield his eyes as the light was too bright to look at. The person turned and Harry thought it might be a woman with long golden hair, the figure kind of reminded him of a Patronus but in a human form and far brighter.  
She moved and stopped just past the trees and seemed to wait for something, before walking out of sight. Harry followed her with his eyes until all he could see was the fading light as she walked further and further away.  
The darkness around him seemed to get thicker and he sat up slowly, before standing up, curious as to who the woman was.

He slowly followed her, moving away from the darkness he'd been left in and saw her further away. She was hidden among the trees with her green cloak blending in with the green leaves and he hurried his steps so he could catch up with her.  
She had finally come to a stop and Harry quietly observed her, suddenly aware of the sounds that surrounded them. It was as if every tree, every bush and even the ground itself had come alive.  
_"He has come…the young one is here…the chosen one." _They seemed to sing and Harry fidgeted under one of the trees, wondering if they were singing about him. The woman spread her arms, as if to embrace the clearing they stood in and then kneeled down on the ground.  
Harry watched as she reached under the root of a thick old tree and seemed to pull something out. She cradled whatever it was in her palms and Harry thought that her hands seemed to be holding a small star, with the way her hands were glowing.  
_"The light needs the dark, to shine at its brightest." _A deep voice said breaking the peace, making Harry jump at the loud sound.

He looked around, into the surrounding darkness but couldn't see anyone, before he turned forwards again.  
The clearing had gone and he now stood completely surrounded by the dark.  
The radiant woman stood not far away, shining as a beacon of light, the only thing visible.  
Harry eyed her, feeling confused, as she moved forwards away from him. It felt almost as if he was inside a pensive with the way he'd slipped from one place to another.  
He quickly followed her, least he be left in the dark and was amazed at what he was able to see as he drew nearer to her.

Pale stone pillars were twisting upwards in different forms reaching up towards sparkling stars high above. The sound of gently falling water filled the air and Harry saw a small waterfall emit from the ceiling and empty into a dark pool.  
He was inside a cave he realised with dismay, having hoped to avoid entering one again, looking around more cautiously than before.  
The Patronus lady finally stopped and then stepped into the dark pool of water, walking forwards slowly, her dress floating on the surface around her feet. She hummed as she made her way through the water and the sound of it made the hair on his arms stand up. It was as if the whole cave came to life at the sound of her voice, as if it had laid dormant for years upon years and now woken at her call.  
Harry stepped in after her and gave a small shiver at the feel of the icy water on his skin.  
There was a small mound of earth in the centre of the pool, a tiny island, and she made for it with sure steps. When she reached the mound she stopped and waited for him to catch up. The cave was no eerily quiet as if in waiting for something. He tried to get a good look at the woman but had to look away as the light was too blinding. He looked down at the water instead and observed her reflexion as well as he could.  
_"Will you plant a light of hope, here in the darkness?"_ She asked, surprising him with her strong voice. She held her hands out and he took the light from her with shaking hands, as soon as it left her hands she was gone and Harry was left standing alone in the dark.  
He carefully opened his cupped hands to find, what looked like, a small acorn with two shining golden leaves growing on a thin stalk.  
A sudden touch on his shoulder made him turn with a start and he blinked confusedly at Caldor, who was kneeling beside him.

"It is time to wake young one, we are leaving shortly." He was told before the elf stood, joining the others getting themselves ready.  
Harry sat up and gazed at the rising sun in confusion, had it all been a dream after all then.  
His trousers were wet at the feet, but so was the dewy grass outside of the cloak meaning it could be a figment of his imagination.  
He ate his breakfast in pondering silence and drained his drink, looking in the direction of where he'd seen the woman in his dream, before giving the elves a quick glance.  
Slipping into the trees he followed his dream steps, surprised to find that it looked just as in his dreams.  
When he came to the old tree he almost turned back, feeling rather silly all of a sudden, but something made him bend down and look as the dream woman had. He could almost hear the plants whispering as he reached out his hand.  
There in the shade of the root he spotted two small weakly glowing leaves, just as the ones he'd seen in his dream. Harry wondered at what to do, in the dream she'd asked him to plant them in the cave, but he had no clue as to where the cave was.

Surely the plant was better off here under the big tree, than in his hands for who knew how long.  
He stood to leave and took a few steps, towards the direction he'd come from, when he was stopped by a strong gust of wind pushing him back.  
"I don't know where to take it." Harry muttered, hoping that nobody would hear him speak to the wind. Another gust hit him and he sighed before bending down and scooping the small plant out of the soil. The wind abated at ones and a soft whispering started up among the trees.  
The twin leaves on the little acorn turned pale grey as he brought it into the light and Harry quickly cupped his hands around it, worrying that he'd killed it. He peeked in between his fingers and relaxed as the plant gave off a weak glow again, perhaps it liked the dark like Devils Snare.  
He started back towards the camp wondering about where to store it, as he didn't plan on walking with it in his hands for the entire journey. Celeborn had said that they were visiting a few places before heading home.

"There you are young Harry, where ever did you disappear to? Come we are ready to depart." Harry nodded to Caldor, who gave him a chastening look, before looking around for something to carry the tiny plant.  
"What have you found?" The elf asked, eyeing Harry's cupped hands.

"Oh, just a small plant, I'm going to take it somewhere else." Harry said, not mentioning the whole dream or the fact the plant was glowing.  
The elf gave him a smile before collecting a small jar for him, previously holding a stinking cheese from the smell of it. Harry slipped the plant into it and got some more soil to cover the roots, he then carried the jar to Lord Celeborn's horse and slipped it into the man's saddlebag. Celeborn smiled and waved Harry up on his horse, clearly knowing that Harry's legs felt as if they were about to fall off.

"We shall reach the city of Helm's Deep by the early evening tonight, Prince Legolas and Gimli elf-friend, are visiting a cave there." Lord Celeborn said at midday.  
Harry blinked at the mention of a cave and looked towards the wizard and his gang.  
Prince Legolas was an elf from the north, Harry had been told, and a friends of Lady Galadriel. He'd made friends with a dwarf, who apparently was alright for a dwarf, according to Caldor. Whatever that was supposed to mean. A dwarf, Harry had learnt was a short, stout man. Apparently they were good at different crafts and great in battle.  
Harry, who had thought of the muggle story about Snow white and the seven dwarfs, had given the man a curious look before shrugging, he looked similar enough to professor Flitwick not to cause any more interest.  
As the day progressed, Harry edged closer and closer to the elf Prince, he was curious about this cave they were going to.  
He rode in silence behind them, listening to the different tones they conversed in, as he couldn't understand the language they spoke in.

"Ah! Young Harry, you have decided to grace us with your presence!" Gandalf called out having finally spotted Harry, who frowned.  
"Come I will introduce you to my friends." The wizard continued, motioning to the Hobbit people that Lord Celeborn had pointed out for Harry. The men gave him waves and one of them started babbling in their language, until Gandalf said something to make him stop with a slight blush, clearly he'd thought that Harry understood him.

After introductions were finished with Harry turned to Legolas, who had the dwarf behind him on his horse.  
"Lord Celeborn said that you are visiting a cave, what does it look like?" Harry asked making the elf's brows rise.

"I myself did not get a good enough look at the Glittering caves to make a fair comment, I made a promise to Gimli here that we would return after the war was finished." Legolas answered, before saying something in the other language to the dwarf. Gimli gave Harry a broad smile under his beard and said something in a gruff voice.  
"It is a cave of true beauty, which words fall short of describing, water fall into dark pools and the ceiling is glittering with precious stones." Legolas translated, getting a slow nod from Harry.

"Could you ask him if there are carved pillars that go up to the ceiling?" Harry asked.  
Getting a curious look from the elf, before his question was passed on. The Dwarf nodded and spoke for quite a while, leaving Harry to wish that he knew the language they spoke. The elf translated whatever Gimli wanted said and the journey to Helm's Deep went on in a similar fashion.

Before they reached the city that evening, Harry had secured himself an invitation to come and see the cave with the two friends. Lord Celeborn had looked slightly hesitant to have him leave but Legolas had promised to keep an eye out for him, after Gimli had made a fuss at the thought of a whole elven army entering with them.  
Gimli professed to like Harry, which dwarf wouldn't like someone who appreciated caves after all. He didn't want them all coming though, as he would be forced to listen to their grumblings, he'd muttered. Legolas had translated his word with a smile to Harry, who'd kept his non-existent appreciation of caves to himself in case the invitation was withdrawn.

They left for the cave as the sun started dipping lower on the horizon and Harry carefully carried the jar with his plant, as they made their way. The other elves started setting up the camp and Harry gave Lord Celeborn a last wave before the three of them rode on.  
It looked as if a war had been raging in the entrance to the cave, big boulders lay scattered on the ground and Harry could see broken arrows and swords littering the ground in places.  
He tilted his head as far back as he could, gazing up at the cave roof in awe once they entered. It looked like the night sky, millions of sparkly crystals reflected the light that reached them.  
The cave looked just as it had in his dream, if not a bit war torn, but it had been darker so he wasn't entirely sure.  
Gimli, the dwarf, barked something at Legolas in their language and looked around with a pleased look on his bearded face, walking further into the space. Legolas answered something before reaching out to touch one of the many pillars with his hand. He murmured something about the craftsmanship before moving after his friend.

Harry tore his eyes away from the pair and looked around more carefully. There were several different pools of water dotted around the vast place, but none looked like the one from his dream.  
He gave the other two a last look, they were moving further into the cave, before making his own way in.  
There were many wide corridors leading into other parts of the cave.  
Harry, who wasn't at all tempted into fumbling around in the dark, chose not to enter them. Although, he had to admit that this cave was spectacular and if someone gave him a map and better light he might like to see more.  
He eyed a dividing wall with interest, it couldn't be more than an inch thick, someone very clever had done an amazing work. The wall didn't look like stone at all, he could imagine a puff of air moving it as if it was a lace curtain and fought the urge to touch it, least it broke. The leaves and flowers carved out didn't look like they were made of stone at all. They must have been made using magic, Harry decided after a moment's inspection, surely nobody could make something so delicate looking from hard stone.

Harry managed to pull himself away from inspecting the décor and made it further into the cave.  
He could still hear the other two, somewhere to his right and if he turned he could still see a bit of the broken cave entrance.  
There were marbled steps, leading up towards another part of the cave and Harry slowly climbed them, all the while taking in the amazing surroundings. Tall white pillars, reaching for the roof. Carved out murals on the walls, depicting plants and animals. He really wished that he had a camera, there were no words to properly convey what he was seeing. The cave was a wonder of architecture and Harry was surer than ever that magic had a hand in creating it.  
Hermione would have loved coming here, he thought, imagining her taking note of every feature seen.

A rushing sound nearby made Harry turn and look for its origin.  
Water cascaded down, from high up in the darkness, into a dark pool of water. It frothed and bubbled before slowly calming the further away you got from the waterfall.  
In the centre of the pool, a small mound of earth could be seen and Harry knew he was in the right place.  
He removed the light shoes he'd been given in Rivendell before dipping his toes into the frigid water.

He brought the glowing plant out of the jar and gritted his teeth against the stinging, cold water, and stepped in. After nearly skidding, on the slippery floor he finally made it to the centre.  
The mound of earth was bigger than he'd first thought and he climbed up on it, grateful to have his feet out of the water for a moment.

The tiny plant in his hands started shining more brightly as he kneeled on the soil. He dug a hole with one hand and then placed the plant in it. There, he'd done what he'd been asked to do.  
Cupping his hands in the cold water around him he brought some water to the plant, wetting the soil around its slim stalk, the soil felt strangely moist and warm under his fingers.  
The twin leaves glowed brighter for a moment and Harry thought he heard a whisper travel round the cave.  
He looked around in wonder, not quite sure what to think anymore. When he'd first entered the pool of water it had been dark and uninviting, it now had little golden specks of light dancing around in the water mesmerising him with the patterns they made.  
There was suddenly something wriggling under his hands and he quickly brought them away from the plant and just stared at it in confusion. In the small amount of time he'd been distracted by the water the plant had grown, as crazy as it seemed.  
It continued now, even as he stared at it, the roots moved beneath the soil like little worms and tiny leaves started appearing on the ever growing stalk. It was madness, like someone had hit it with some sort of growing charm.  
Harry turned and stared at the water again with narrowed eyes, perhaps it was magic water that made plants grow faster. He quickly stood at that thought and tried to determine if he too was growing, but he didn't think so.

"Harry." Legolas faint call snapped him out of his thoughts and he gave the plant another look before taking a step back, it reached his knees already and was glowing brighter than ever.  
"Harry!" Legolas worried voice called again, sounding nearer this time.

"I'm over here!" He called back, keeping an eye on the tree as it strained upwards with twisted motions.

"You should not explore on…" Whatever Legolas had been about to say died when the elf caught sight of the growing tree and Harry standing beside it. The dwarf, who came panting after the taller elf, gave a surprised yelp. He muttered something and gave a pull at his beard before staring open mouthed at Harry.  
A gentle caress on Harry's shoulder made him turn and he very nearly tumbled into the pool at the sight of one of the branches so near his face. The tree was already as tall as himself now and Harry decided it was time to leave the little island.  
He stepped into the water, preparing himself for the cold but was surprised at the more agreeable water temperature. It was still cold, but instead of feeling painful it was rather nice and refreshing.  
"Harry, where did that plant come from?" Legolas asked, reaching out a hand and helping him out from the water. Harry sat down on the ground without answering, pulling his shoes on, and deliberated on whether he should tell the truth or not.

"I found it after we left Edoras and had a dream that it should be left here." Harry finally said, not seeing the harm in telling the elf the truth. They all stood watching the tree reach higher and higher before the dwarf barked something at Legolas in a demanding tone, no doubt wanting an explanation.  
The elf and dwarf continued chatting for a moment, whilst Harry moved closer to the water again. He was sure he'd just seen something golden move about and gave a startled gasp when a small golden fish shot out of the water. It made a small splash as it dove down into the pool again.  
The water was full of them, tiny luminous fish, swimming about the water. They had most definitely not been in the water when he had gone in to plant the tree, Harry thought gawking at them.  
The dwarf kneeled next to him and reached out lightning fast to try and grasp one of them, only to miss. He gave a mutter at something Legolas said and soon the elf was kneeling too, eyeing the fish with determined eyes.  
Harry placed his hands in the water carefully and cupped them, raising them slowly once one of the fishes was caught. Both Gimli and Legolas gave him strange looks, before coming closer to gaze at the fish. Gimli muttered something and shook his head.

"Do you know what kind they are?" Legolas asked, making Harry shake his head too. He'd never seen them before and his knowledge of fish went as far as naming them goldfish.

A whisper made both Harry and Legolas look up, it was a low murmur moving about them.  
Harry looked around the cave before realising that it came from the tree.  
Large white flowers were blossoming among the shimmering leaves, bringing forth a sweet smell of honey. The tree seemed to have finally stopped growing and now stood swaying gently, as if from an imaginary breeze.

"It is a blessing from Kementári herself." Legolas murmured, eyeing the tree with soft eyes.

"Who is Kementári?" Harry asked, wondering if it could have been the woman in his dreams.

Legolas eyed him surprised, for a moment, before shaking his head.  
"I forget how young you are." He mumbled, without answering Harry's question. Harry frowned, but was interrupted when Gimli turned and spoke to him.  
"Gimli holds you in the highest respect for blessing the Glittering caves with this wonder of a tree." Legolas translated.  
"He is to petition for the caves to be recolonized by the dwarfs, with himself as leader. If he is granted, you are for always an honoured guest." He added, after letting Gimli finish.

Harry nodded awkwardly, he'd not planted it for the dwarfs after all, it had been all thanks to the dream woman.  
"Er…I'm honoured by his…er kind words. Thank you." Harry said blushing slightly, he hoped his embarrassment didn't show. The dwarf gave him a hearty bash on the back and looked around happily again.

Night had fallen by the time they made it to the camp, Glorfindel looked reassured at spotting Harry whole and well, they sat down by the fire and soon had a hot meal in their hands.  
Gimli was talking animatedly with anyone willing to listen whilst Legolas sat in quiet thoughts.

That night Harry dreamt again of the glowing woman, but he couldn't remember what the dream had been about no matter how hard he tried. It occupied his mind as they travelled onwards and he was mostly sat silent on his horse.

* * *

_**So, what do you think? Might there still be a little magic in our elf wizard? We'll be meeting the Ent's later, as that is where they are travelling. I'm a little worried about ent speech…but I'm sure I'll manage: ) Thanks for reading. Elerosse**_

Ps. I have been looking for a Beta with no luck. If anyone knows of a good one, please let me know: ) Thanks


	7. The hope

**_Hi new chapter up, yay! Hope you like and thank you for all the reviews. Elerosse_**

* * *

**The hope.**

Harry walked in the back of the long line of travellers, as they made their way towards Isengard, Caldor his ever present companion. The elf had been a bit put out at not having been invited into the caves and only the fact that the Prince of Mirkwood had been with Harry seemed to make it bearable.  
They had a three day long journey ahead of them and Harry was ever so slowly edging further and further back in the party.  
He'd been having strange dreams since leaving the cave, none of which he could properly remember when he woke and was feeling a bit worn out at the moment. Some of the dreams had actually happened whilst he was dozing on the horse's back and he'd taken to walking instead.  
In the dreams he was travelling through a dense forest of some kind, he had a hard time remembering any details other that the forest being large. He did know that he heard whispers all around both in his dreams and when he was awake but so far he'd been unable to make head on what the whispers were saying.

The wind was whispering at him even now but the many footsteps made it hard for him to even try to hear what was being said.

The group got further and further away as the second day of their walking passed. Caldor had urged him to move quicker a couple of times but Harry had shaken his head and told the elf to go on without him, saying that he'd catch up later.  
Lady Galadriel had given him a long look on the first day of their travels to Isengard and had not waited for him and Caldor since, Harry figured she knew that he needed some space to think.  
Caldor had stopped urging Harry on when he realised it wasn't working, but refused to leave Harry on his own.  
"We shall catch up with the rest at our leisure then, but we do so together." Caldor had said, giving the group far of in the distance an unreadable look.

"Sorry, I just think I need to slow down a little." Harry said apologetically, making Caldor eye him for a moment in thought.

"Then that is what we shall do." Was all the elf said, obviously seeing something in Harry that made him visibly relax, making Harry feel better as he didn't have to push on.  
Now that they were travelling on their own Harry could hear the whispers more clearly, they were calling out his name.  
"_Harry Potter, the chosen one. We are waiting_." There seemed to be one and many voices at the same time, coming from near and far. Harry wasn't sure what to think of it, the whispers didn't seem evil or bad, but they did make him shiver slightly at their words about the chosen one.

In the evening of the second day Harry and Caldor sat gazing into the fire with the older elf telling him stories about elves. Bedtime stories as Harry was dubbing them. They were on their own as the rest were about a day away and the silence was wonderful.  
"I once saw a dragon, breathing fire as it came over the dense tree tops near Erebor, where your new dwarf friend Gimli hails." Caldor said, having started a story about the greed of men and Dwarfs.

"I've met dragons too, my friend always wanted one of his own and managed to get hold of an egg which hatched. He couldn't keep it through as he lived in a wooden hut and they're illegal to keep." Harry interrupted, causing Caldor to eye him with a surprised look.  
"And when I was fifteen there was a competition in my school where we had to get a golden egg from a dragons clutch." He added, making Caldor's pale face go slightly green.

"Surely you are jesting, no sane elder would put children at such a risk." The elf whispered, paling even more as Harry just smiled ruefully in response.

"I've also met a Basilisk and lots of Acromantula." Harry said feeling rather happy about his contribution to the storytelling, Caldor certainly looked affected by his story.

"What are they?" Caldor asked, sounding unsure of whether he actually wanted an answer.

"Well a Basilisk is a big snake that can kill with its eyes and an Acromantula is a giant spider." Harry said casually, watching as Caldor's eyes got larger and larger at his words.

"All of this before you came here to middle earth?" Caldor asked, before sighing at Harry's nod.  
"It is well that your elders, who should have cared for your safety, are far from here." Caldor muttered, making Harry smile slightly. The elves were rather more concerned about his safety, than anyone else ever had been.  
"We have these Acromantula here in middle earth too, they are a great bane to the elves in Mirkwood." Caldor said shaking his head making Harry eye him with interest.

"The spiders tried to eat me and Ron the first time we met them." Harry said with a smile, reminiscing the good times. Caldor gave him a worried look, before stoking the fire with an intent look on his face.  
"Come to think of it they tried to eat us the second time as well but I survived as you can see." Harry added, making the elf shake his head tiredly.

"It is late and we have a long march ahead of us tomorrow." The elf said finally and Harry leaned back on the ground gazing up at the stars, until he finally fell asleep dreaming of swaying branches and falling leaves.

The next day Harry wanted to just sit and gaze at the landscape, he was not moving and that was final. Caldor had sighed but seated himself next to Harry, gazing out at the rugged land.  
"What is it you are waiting for Harry?" He asked.

"I don't know, I just don't think I'm supposed to go yet. But you can go ahead if you want, I have this feeling I'm supposed to go on my own anyway." Harry answered slowly. It was true, he mused, he really did have a feeling that he was about to go on a walk.  
They didn't leave until after lunch when Harry felt the wind change, when they reached a large enclosed garden Harry knew he'd been right to wait.

"The iron fortress, the tree shepherds of old have returned and have taken over the tending of the grounds." Caldor said, looking out over the garden.  
Harry barely heard his words though as there were whispers travelling in all directions, the voices from the trees were filled with delight as they chattered with each other. It was a cheery sound and Harry couldn't help smiling, it was like being near a group of happy first years bubbling over with excitement about the new place they'd ended up in.  
"Harry?" Caldor prompted, when he noticed Harry's distracted face.  
"Perhaps we should hasten our feet again, we should not tarry too much or we will be left to travel home on our own." He said, putting a soft hand on Harry's back to herd him along. A creaking sound made them both turn and Harry felt his mouth drop open in astonishment, a tall tree was walking up to them. Literally walking, up to them.

"Hoom-hoom…the chosen one has come, just as the winds foretold, you may call me Treebeard little one." The tree said, eyeing Harry with curious eyes. Caldor glanced at Harry curiously before bowing deeply in the trees direction, prompting Harry to bow his head as well.  
"I am very glad to have met you child, blessed by the mother beloved by us all." The tree said in a slow voice that rumbled through Harry, filling his very being.

"I am pleased to meet you as well." Harry said slowly before giving Caldor, who was eyeing him with large eyes, a confused look. The giant tree-man gave a rumbling laugh and bent down slightly in a creaky bow at Harry's words.

"Hoom-hoom…blessed we all are indeed." The tree said in the same slow rumbling voice again, eyeing Harry softly, before turning to Caldor.  
"The youngling will be safe, you will join the great Lord and Lady of Lórien and..." Treebeard lifted one of his branch like hands, stopping any words of protest coming from Caldor, who looked deeply worried at the trees words.  
"Hoom-hoom…he will join you again as your people return home to Lórien, first he will walk through Fangorn forest and meet friends." The tree added, not really making the older elf look any less worried.  
"Come my little brother, come and I shall introduce you to more of our kind." Treebeard rumbled gently, before he motioned for Harry to walk down the path towards the lake.

Harry, who could hear the calls from the many trees, gave Caldor a little shrug.  
"I guess I'll see you later." He said, watching as Caldor's face got paler still.

"The Lord and Lady would not approve of me leaving a youngling on his own." Caldor said in a strained voice clearly uncomfortable with arguing with the tall tree, but more so at the idea of leaving Harry alone with the tree, before bowing deeply in Treebeard's direction.

The tree gave a deep chuckle-like sound and turned to gaze down on the elf.  
"Hoom-hoom...he will be well cared for and the great Lord and Lady will not find his treatment lacking." Treebeard said, eyeing the elven man until Caldor bowed his head in defeat.  
"Go now and join your elders." He added, making Caldor step back with a clenched jaw and a deeply unhappy look on his face.

"Please take great care Harry, do not act recklessly and stay on the path, I will meet you by the forest edge." Caldor urged before quickly running in the direction the others had set off in, looking intent on catching up with them as soon as he could.

"Hoom-hoom…great nurturers they are but slow to let their young test their roots." Treebeard said, as Harry watched his elf friend disappear with a last look back at him and the tall treeman.  
"Many there are that wish to meet with you, blessed by the mother." Treebeard said, making Harry look up.

"Did the wind really tell you that I was coming?" Harry asked, quickly getting past the shock of walking besides a moving tree, making Treebeard nod slowly as they walked down the path.

"Hoom-hoom…it did, it did. Harry Potter, the chosen one is coming, it called." Treebeard answered, making Harry bite his lip in thought. He'd been hearing lots of whispers in the wind lately so it wasn't that surprising that the tree could hear them too, but he wondered why it was whispering about him.  
Harry followed Treebeard right down to the lake that stood in the centre of the large garden and then round it, eyeing the tall, dark tower standing in the middle. They stopped at many places along the path and Harry listened to the new trees with a smile on his face.  
"Why don't you dip a hand in the water, Harry Potter." Treebeard said, giving Harry a glance as they walked side by side along the still lake.

They stopped and Harry kneeled by the water's edge, reaching out with his hand. The water was frigid and he shuddered as the cold travelled up his arm.  
"It's cold." Harry said looking up, wondering why he'd been asked to feel it, Treebeard hummed and eyed him for a moment in silence.

"How does it feel?" Treebeard asked, making Harry blink.

"Erm…cold?" Harry said again, feeling a slight flush travel up his neck at the look he received from the brown-green eyes on the trees face.

"Close your eyes young Harry, feel the water." Treebeard mumbled in his deep voice.  
Harry took a breath, closed his eyes and wondered why everyone always wanted him to lose his sight when he did these little exercises.  
"Where did it come from, how has it changed, where is it going?" Treebeard asked making Harry frown, how in the world was he supposed to...Harry opened his eyes suddenly at a soft touch to his shoulder, eyeing the still water in amazement. It glowed golden around his fingers.

He just knew, without knowing how, that the water had travelled miles and miles to come here.  
"Oh…that's…it's…" Harry stuttered, making Treebeard remove his seven fingers from Harry's shoulder before chuckling deeply. The water darkened again, the golden light dissipating and Harry eyed his fingers with wonder.

"Well now, there you have it, just at the tip of your little fingers. Power, good and strong." Treebeard said, sounding pleased.

Harry looked up at him with a small smile on his face.  
It felt a bit like waking up after having had a long Quidditch match the day before, his body hadn't quite landed yet even though he was on the ground.  
He'd travelled down waterfalls and churned through gentle bends in the land, drained through rich soil into deep underground caverns and slipped out through cracks in mountains.

He eyed the still water again and slowly slipped both of his hands into the cool water and lifted a handful, it filtered through his fingers and pale golden flecks of light danced in the fine mist that become of the water as it escaped through his fingers. He could feel it, really feel the water.  
Treebeard laughed and Harry turned eyeing the tree man with hope.  
"I did magic." He whispered, he'd gone long enough without it to recognize the feeling. It was hard to describe, the feeling of somehow reaching further out of oneself.

"You are magic." Treebeard said, reaching out with his long arms for Harry. He lifted him up as if he weighed nothing and placed him on his shoulder, Harry holding on tightly to the surprisingly soft leathery skin.  
"We have waited a long time for you, you are the light that balances the dark, the son of hope." Treebeard said quietly, almost speaking to himself.

"How long is long?" Harry asked, wondering if there had been a Prophesy about him here too.

"Hoom-hoom…the mother sometimes lets us know when there is chance afoot. Some of it we can influence, other we must not. Some we know ahead of time others not until much later." Treebeard rumbled in answer, making Harry furrow his brows. What in the world did that mean, he wondered.

"Who's the mother?" Harry asked holding on tighter as he got a deep chuckle in response to his question.

"The mother, is the mother, she is the creator of us tree shepherds and so much more." The tree answered motioning with his arms all around, making Harry roll his eyes at the not so helpful answer. Treebeard chuckled again and they slowly walked onwards, towards the tall mountain in the distance.

Treebeard was amazing Harry decided as they walked, not just because he was a walking talking tree but just because.  
He was magic in the flesh, real magic.  
Harry barely noticed them entering a forest or walking besides the tall mountain, he didn't even take notice of the changing light as the sun rode lower on the sky. Treebeard was an excellent story teller and Harry was rather captivated.  
"…and he wasn't able to talk himself out of that wily oaks grasp." Treebeard chuckled, in the middle of recounting his first meeting with Lord Celeborn ages ago.  
"I could tell he was an elf of great compassion and care, so I let him pass through my forest unhindered. He returned later with his bright Lady and I visited the forest of Lórien, there is great magic there little brother and not all of it elven." Treebeard said with a soft voice.  
"You will get good practice there, I think." He added, almost to himself. Harry who'd been mostly silent throughout Treebeard's stories shifted now, wanting to ask what the tree meant by that. But as he opened his mouth a huge yawn broke out and he blinked rather tiredly.

He looked around in surprise, conscious all of a sudden of his surroundings.  
"It can't be evening already can it? Caldor and I just had lunch." Harry said, feeling confused, as he gazed up at the dark sky where already a few stars were visible. He sat on the Treebeard's shoulder in silence for a moment thinking it through. He tried to recall their walk but couldn't really remember getting past the mountain that now stood behind them.  
They soon entered a large clearing and Harry eyed the other tree shepherds, standing in a huddle at its centre, with curiosity.

"Many of the Ent's have left for their own lands again, now that the lingering darkness flees, but there are some that wished to lay eyes on you before leaving." Treebeard said, coming to a halt in front of the others, before gently placing Harry on the ground again.

One of the shepherds stepped forwards, gazing down at Harry as he stretched his stiff legs.  
"Hroom-hoom…well met, chosen one…Hoom-hoom, bringer of hope." The Ent greeted slowly, looking down at Harry from his great height.

"This is Farsight, tender of the northern trees, he travelled far to aid us in the fight against the Orcs and Saruman." Treebeard introduced.

"Nice to meet you." Harry said, bowing slightly as he had for Treebeard. Farsight blinked slowly and the other tree shepherd behind him shifted closer.

"Your voice goes deep, son of hope, I am glad to have stayed my feet." Farsight said in a deep voice. Harry was soon greeting the rest of the tall tree-people, surrounded on all sides, feeling as if he was in the middle of the forest again rather than in the open clearing.  
Treebeard handed him a cup of water, which Harry surprisingly found rather filling, at one point saying it was Entdraught.

Harry had a hard time remembering who was who, as they gave him one name but felt like another. It was like he could hear them on two planes, one through his ears and the other deep in his mind.  
Quickbeam, a younger tree shepherd, had laughed at him. Saying it was just as hard for them to remember that he was more than man and elf, until he opened his mouth.  
Quickbeam proved to be rather fun, he told Harry many fun and touching stories about the woods and forests he'd travelled through as well as the many trees he'd meet. He'd been intrigued to hear about the whomping willow, which Harry had told him about, and had asked many questions about all the plants and animals Harry knew of and how they lived and behaved.  
The clearing had gone quiet as Harry talked to Quickbeam and he'd realised that they followed the conversation with great interest, making him glad to have meet Hagrid.

"You don't mention meeting one of our kind before Harry." Treebeard said, after a moment of silence, as Harry trailed off unsure of what else to say.

"I never have, but I haven't really got around that much in different forests. We had a forest near my school but we were discouraged from entering it as there were dangerous creatures living there. Then I went to another forest with my friends, when we were trying to hide from the Deatheaters, but I didn't have time to really take in the surroundings." Harry said, trying to remember if he'd ever heard of tree shepherds or seen any. Luna would probably have been the person to ask. She would have known about tree shepherds if they existed in the world.

"Hoom-hoom…it is true, hope bringer, you are very young still and your legs have not walked long enough for your eyes to have seen much." Farsight said in a gravelly voice, making the others hum in agreement.

"We know change is upon us, we have all felt it coming for some time. We shall weather it as we always have, perhaps tomorrow is different, all change is not foul and unwanted after all." Treebeard said placing his hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry blinked as his mind was filled with images of trees of all kinds, their calls and whispers filled him with joy, more trees than he'd ever seen before in his life.  
"Everything that begins has an end." He added, letting go of Harry's shoulder and thus ending the memories swirling in his mind.

Quickbeam brought forth a, simple braided, circlet of Rowan and placed it on Harry's head.  
"I know that another wood has called to you before this one but I hope these delicate branches will keep you well." He said before stepping back and disappearing into the dark forest.  
Harry felt a quiver pass through him when the circlet touched his head but it passed quickly and he now watched as the other tree shepherds started leaving as well.

"Look for us, son of hope, wherever your feet take you. Perhaps we will meet again." Farsight said before leaving and Harry raised a hand in goodbye. Soon he and Treebeard were the only ones present in the clearing, which was lit up by the stars now able to reach the ground.

"You look as you should now, Harry Potter, rest and continue your journey when you wake." Treebeard said as he started for the trees.

"Aren't you taking me to Lady Galadriel's forest?" Harry asked confused, as that is what he'd thought would happen.

"I shall return to Isengard once more, my tending of the garden is not yet completed. You are to simply walk to the edge of the Fangorn and then Lórien is but a day's march away." Treebeard said jovially.  
"There is nothing you have to fear here under these trees, the walk will do you good." He added at Harry's look of uncertainty. Harry, who wasn't so sure that he wanted to be left all on his own again looked up when Treebeard chuckled.  
"You are never truly alone Harry, our roots go far and wide." He said giving Harry a reassuring look.

"But which way should I go?" Harry asked looking around.

"Hoom-hoom…the right way of course." Treebeard chuckled, making Harry sigh.  
"Call the white stag, he will guide you on your way." Treebeard said moving closer to the trees.  
"I was honoured to meet you, bringer of hope, may you grow ever deeper and stronger." He said disappearing in among the tree trunks.

"It was nice meeting you too." Harry called, watching as the tree crowns shifted and shook. He looked around the clearing again and bit his lip I thought.  
Call the white stag, he'd said, did he mean Prongs? Harry wondered.

"Er…Prongs!" Harry called hesitantly, looking around, sighing when nothing appeared. He took a deep breath and stepped in the direction Treebeard had headed, before stopping mid step.  
Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he summoned up a happy memory.  
"Expecto Patronum." He whispered, shivering as a light tingle passed through him.  
He opened his eyes and drew a shaky breath.

* * *

_**I hope you liked the chapter, I guess you can work out where he'll end up next. Thanks for reading:) Elerosse**_


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